Federal Circuit Holds that a Party has Standing to Appeal an IPR Decision if their Activities are Similar to those Which Resulted in a Litigation or if there is a Risk of a Direct or Indirect Infringement Lawsuit

In Intel Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc., Case Nos. 2020-1828, 2020-1867 (Fed. Cir. 2021), the Federal Circuit found that, despite not being named in an earlier lawsuit, Intel had standing to appeal an IPR decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board because “Intel’s risks transcend mere conjecture or hypothesis.”  Prior to the filing of the IPRs by Intel, Qualcomm, the owner of the patent at issue, sued Apple for infringement based on an Apple product that included an Intel processor.  In that suit, Qualcomm’s infringement theory identified the Intel processor as alleged to meet one of the claim limitations.  The Federal Circuit reasoned that Intel had standing because its activities gave rise to Qualcomm’s lawsuit.  Additionally, even though Intel only manufactures one component of the claimed inventions, the Federal Circuit also noted that Intel had standing due to the possibility of a direct infringement suit based on product testing and the possibility of an indirect infringement suit.