Ford Motor Company v. AutoConnect Holdings LLC
Patent Trial and Appeal Board
Holding
The Director granted Patent Owner AutoConnect Holdings LLC's request for Director Review, vacated the previously granted institution notices, and denied institution in all three IPRs (IPR2025-01342, IPR2025-01383, IPR2025-01524) challenging automotive connectivity patents (Nos. 9,020,697; 9,290,153; 9,123,186). The Director found that Ford Motor Company's use of 'plain and ordinary meaning' claim constructions in its IPR petitions while simultaneously advancing broad indefiniteness contentions against the same claim terms in co-pending district court litigation constituted impermissible inconsistent positions under the precedential Revvo and informative Tesla Director Review decisions, as applied and extended in the same-day Terumo BCT decision. Ford's post-hoc offer to stipulate withdrawal of its district court indefiniteness arguments was rejected as insufficient because it came only after the inconsistency was flagged by Patent Owner and after institution had already been granted.
Why It Matters
Petitioners must align their claim construction positions across the PTAB and co-pending district court proceedings before institution — not after — because a reactive stipulation to cure inconsistent positions will not save an already-granted institution from being vacated under the Revvo/Tesla/Terumo framework. The Director is actively and consistently enforcing this principle across multiple proceedings, signaling a firm and growing body of Director Review precedent that practitioners must account for at the petition-drafting stage.
- Written description, enablement and indefiniteness (§ 112) →
- Claim construction →
- PTAB discretionary denial →
- PTAB Director Review →
- Fed. Cir. · Oct. 7, 2026In re Gamble
- Fed. Cir. · Oct. 2, 2026Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. v. Inari Agriculture, Inc.
- Fed. Cir. · Oct. 1, 2026Satius Holding, LLC v. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Fed. Cir. · Sept. 30, 2026TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL GMBH v. ELI LILLY AND COMPANY
- Fed. Cir. · Sept. 30, 2026Wang v. Viking Drill & Tool, Inc.