Evidence of PTAB Institution Decision Excluded Under FRE 403

The court granted defendant's motion to exclude the PTAB's denial of an IPR petition under Rule 403. "I agree that the . . . IPR denial is a final decision. I do not agree that it is a decision on the merits, any more so than a grant of an IPR is a decision on the merits. It is akin to a ruling on a preliminary injunction, where the merits are assessed with less than a full record and with less than a full adversarial proceeding. . . . [T]he patent examiner is a person of ordinary skill in the art, whereas the IPR decisions are made by lawyers who are not persons of ordinary skill in the art. . . . [T]he PTAB's actions in relation to the [patent-in-suit] are of marginal relevance, and the probative value is greatly outweighed by the expenditure of time that would be required to give the jury the full context necessary to fairly evaluate the evidence."

InterDigital Communications Inc. et al v. Nokia Corporation et al, 1-13-cv-00010 (DED September 19, 2014, Order) (Andrews, J.)