Federal Circuit Says Expired Patent Warrants Vacatur of ITC Determination
The CAFC dismissed two appeals from an ITC determination as moot and vacated the underlying decision because Hydrafacial's patent had expired, rejecting arguments regarding potential collateral consequences in USPTO proceedings.
WISECODE Take
Many business owners assume a patent litigation victory is permanent. However, the CAFC recently vacated an ITC determination that Cartessa violated Section 337, simply because Hydrafacial's patent had expired. This is like a sports match where the scoreboard resets once the final whistle blows; even though the USPTO previously dismissed a challenge (No. IPR2025-00145) based on the ITC decision, the expiration rendered the case moot. For business leaders, this is a warning that relying on a single, aging patent can cause hard-won legal advantages to vanish instantly. We suggest: first, regularly assess the remaining lifespan of your patents; second, build a tiered patent portfolio to ensure continuous protection. Patent strategy is a marathon; we advise consulting professionals and utilizing IPCode's patent portfolio health check service to build a resilient defense.
Original sources
Compiled automatically by WISECODE IP Radar. Summaries are short source excerpts; commentary is AI-generated. See the source links for full text.
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