Welcome to Skilled in the Art. I'm Law.com IP reporter Scott Graham, and I cannot guarantee that there isn't a tape of me using the phrase “patent troll.” I've got some big, breaking news below: David Ruschke's three-year tenure as chief judge of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board has apparently come to an end. Plus, I have another look at a $66 million trade secrets verdict and an exceptional case fee award that's due in part to IPRs run wild. As always I encourage you to email me your thoughts and feedback and follow me on Twitter.

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Chief Judge David Ruschke of the Patent and Trial Appeal Board

David Ruschke Taking New Role at PTO

I'm hearing word tonight that Chief Judge David Ruschke has told the Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges that he'll be taking a new role in the PTO. I don't have details yet, and neither Ruschke nor a PTO spokesman have responded immediately to emails seeking comment. But it sounds as if Ruschke will be working with the board and the PTO's examiner troops on a patent quality initiative. The idea is to get the PTAB and the examiners more in sync on what's patentable and what isn't, which Director Andrei Iancu has identified as a top priority.

This news follows by less than a couple of months Nate Kelley's departure as PTO solicitor. It means Iancu, who became PTO director in January, can now put his own people in the two most important jobs for shaping PTAB jurisprudence and operations. It comes just as the PTAB is expected to wave good-bye to the BRI claim construction standard and say hello to Phillips, one of many big changes in the PTAB pipeline.

I'm a little surprised. In public at least Ruschke has sounded willing and eager to embrace the change Iancu's been promising. Could Iancu be trying to push faster than a large government bureaucracy can manage? The answer probably is yes, but Ruschke spent years in the private sector himself, and has been leading the PTAB's rapid response to the Supreme Court's SAS decision.