Risk Update

Disqualifications — PTAB + Patent Conflict Allegation & Fake Firm, Real Disqualification

PTAB Axes Nasdaq Patents Under Alice, Won’t DQ Fish” —

  • “The Patent Trial and Appeal Board on Tuesday cleared Fish & Richardson PC to represent Miami International Holdings Inc. as it lodges covered business method reviews of patents owned by a subsidiary of its former client, Nasdaq, and then invalidated claims from two of those patents.”
  • “While Fish & Richardson did prosecute patents for Nasdaq, it was not involved in these specific Nasdaq ISE LLC patents, and there’s no evidence that confidential information has been changing hands, a panel of six judges overseeing the various CBMs said.”
  • “Fish & Richardson is representing Miami International Holdings, which operates electronic trading exchanges such as MIAX, in these various reviews. The firm had represented Nasdaq from February 1998 through October 2011, prosecuting several patents, but not the ones in suit here, according to the PTAB. In 2016, Nasdaq acquired International Securities Exchange Inc., which later became Nasdaq ISE, and Fish & Richardson has never represented the subsidiary, according to the board.”

Fake law firm boss disqualified for a second time” —

  • “The director of a bogus law firm which falsely claimed to be registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been banned from running a company for 10 years.”
  • “French Fox Limited was incorporated in 2016 and promoted itself as a solicitors’ firm, claiming on its website it had experience in several sectors and could provide a number of services.”
  • “But in reality the outfit was not registered with the SRA and did not have permission to display the Legal500 logo. Following complaints, French Fox was wound up in the High Court last year after a petition was submitted by the Insolvency Service.”