Vringo (VRNG) was issued a reexamination certificate on their '420 patent, confirming all claims that were reviewed in an Ex Parte Reexamination petitioned by Google this morning (7/2/2014). The claims at issue were 10,14,15,25,27,28. A jury returned a verdict that Google infringed the same claims of the '420 patent in November 2012.
Quick thoughts on the development:
Google has filed 4 Ex Parte Reexamination requests, two each on the '664 and '420 patents. Both '664 reexaminations have been already decided on by the USPTO with confirmation of claims. The '420 patent already had one reexamination certificate issued. Today was the 2nd confirmation on the '420 patent. There are no requests outstanding.
Invalidity/Obviousness has been a hot button issue since the CAFC oral arguments held in early May. The majority of the time and questions were related to obviousness, which was the focus of the panel. My non-expert conclusion after seeing the last reexamination certificate is that obviousness is now an even less of an issue at the CAFC. A jury verdict plus subsequent reexamination certificate supporting validity of the patents asserted is a strong position to be in when your District Court decisions go up on Appeal. It is very difficult to analyze or forecast how patent litigation is going to resolve, but it is my opinion that Vringo's position is about as good as it gets.
Disclosure: I am long VRNG. As always, I strongly suggest seeking out the opinion of a patent lawyer (I am not one).
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