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Director Institution Decision – Discretionary DenialMay 15, 2026·IPR2026-00134

Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation et al. v. Railware, Inc. et al.

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Holding

The Director denied institution in IPR2026-00133, -00134, and -00135 (covering Patents 9,517,782, RE47,835, and RE49,115, directed to railroad technology) on discretionary grounds because Petitioner Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies failed to present its own claim construction position as required by 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(3), instead relying on claim construction positions advanced by other parties in prior district court litigation. Applying the precedential Revvo decision, the Director held that a petitioner may not substitute third-party constructions for its own and must present a single, consistent construction applied throughout the petition.

Why It Matters

Petitioners must affirmatively stake out their own claim construction position in the petition itself—borrowing constructions from other parties in parallel litigation, even while reserving a position in that litigation, is fatal to institution under the precedential Revvo framework and 37 C.F.R. § 42.104(b)(3).

discretionary denial§ 314(a)claim constructionparallel litigation§ 112(b)

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