USPTO designates as precedential an Appeals Review Panel decision addressing obviousness-type double patenting

Ex parte Baurin, Appeal 2024-002920 (ARP Aug. 6, 2026) (precedential)

In this decision, an Appeals Review Panel (ARP) of Director John A. Squires, Chief Judge Kalyan Deshpande, and Acting Deputy Chief Judge Michelle Ankenbrand reversed a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) decision and reinstated the examiner's rejection of claims for obviousness-type double patenting (OTDP). The ARP explained the statutory, precedential, and supporting commercial rationales underlying OTDP and determined that the Federal Circuit has recognized an anti-harassment rationale as a legitimate policy justification underpinning the OTDP doctrine, even absent evidence that patent issuance would extend the duration of an applicant's patent monopoly. The ARP, nonetheless, questioned whether a standalone anti-harassment rationale risks harming innovation and should be ultimately reconsidered by the court. The ARP also proposed a future framework designed to streamline and make more predictable the Office's handling of OTDP.

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