Federal Circuit Finds That States’ Patents Are Subject To IPRs, Rejecting Sovereign Immunity Defense

On June 14, 2019, the Federal Circuit issued its decision in Regents of the University of Minnesota v. LSI Corp. (available here). The Federal Circuit found that “state sovereign immunity does not apply to” inter partes review proceedings, as the Federal Government’s role in IPRs renders it a superior sovereign (i.e., IPRs represent the sovereign’s reconsideration of the initial patent grant). This is consistent with the Federal Circuit’s earlier decision in Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe finding that a Native American Tribes’ sovereign immunity does not apply in IPRs.