In a recent decision highlighting the intersection of settlements and joinder in patent challenges, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has denied Mountain Voyage’s attempt to join a terminated inter partes review (IPR) proceeding involving The Ridge Wallet’s compact wallet patent.
The February 18, 2025 decision in IPR2024-01264 demonstrates how settlement of an existing IPR can foreclose opportunities for other parties seeking to join, even when their joinder motion is timely filed relative to the institution decision.
Background
Mountain Voyage filed its petition and motion for joinder on August 6, 2024, seeking to join an earlier IPR filed by Shenzhen Pincan Technology (the Shenzhen IPR). While Mountain Voyage filed within one month of the Shenzhen IPR’s institution as required by PTAB rules, the settlement and subsequent termination of the Shenzhen IPR in December 2024 proved fatal to Mountain Voyage’s strategy.
The Timing Trap
“There no longer is a pending proceeding in the Shenzhen IPR for Petitioner to join,” the Board explained, declaring the joinder motion moot. This left Mountain Voyage’s petition subject to the standard one-year time bar under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b), which had already expired. Continue reading