The PTAB denied Cellspin Soft's motion to terminate IPR proceedings initiated by TikTok, ruling that Cellspin Soft waived its RPI argument. Cellspin contended that TikTok didn't identify the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as an RPI and claimed TikTok, influenced by the CCP, was not a 'person' eligible for patent rights challenge per U.S. Supreme Court precedent. However, the PTAB noted that the ownership concerns about TikTok had been known long before Cellspin's argument was formulated, impacting their case significantly.
Thus, even assuming the CCP is an RPI, the Petitions were still filed by a 'person' under the statute.
The PTAB ruled that Cellspin Soft had waived its right to argue the RPI issue because it did not first raise the issue in the patent owner's response.
Cellspin Soft told the PTAB that it first became aware of CCP's alleged control of TikTok through the ownership of "golden shares" this January.
TikTok's ultimate control by sovereign government actors did not implicate U.S. Supreme Court precedent on government entities challenging U.S. patent rights through IPR.
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