A federal judge in Delaware on Wednesday denied Apple Inc.'s bid to pause a patent infringement suit while the Patent Trial and Appeal Board mulls an administrative review of four patents at the heart of the suit.

The ruling, from U.S. Magistrate Judge Sherry R. Fallon of the District of Delaware, allowed the Cupertino, California-based tech giant to renew its motion for a stay the case in the coming months, when PTAB is expected to decide to institute proceedings on Apple's petition for inter partes review of Universal Secure Registry's patents.

However, any delay before then would likely prejudice USR and unnecessarily delay the case, which is set for trial in July 2020, Fallon said.

“Without any certainty as to whether the PTAB will institute review, the extent to which the issues before the court might be simplified remains unknown,” she wrote in a 10-page memorandum opinion. “As a practical matter, putting the case on hold until the decision to institute is made is likely less efficient than continuing on track through discovery.”

USR sued Apple and Visa Inc. last year, alleging in a 102-page complaint that the Apple Pay app had infringed its patents, which cover systems for mobile payment and computer security. Apple responded earlier this year by filing petitions challenging the validity of each of USR's four patents.

In June, Apple asked for a stay while PTAB reviews its petition to institute proceedings. Visa, which partnered with Apple to develop the app, has filed its own IPR petition against one of the patents.

On Thursday, Fallon said decisions on Apple's petitions are expected in October and November.

“It remains likely that the PTAB's institution decisions will precede large-scale and expensive discovery efforts related to document production or claim construction,” Fallon wrote. “Therefore, it is more practical to allow preliminary claim construction activity to proceed while awaiting the PTAB's decision on whether to institute proceedings on Apple's petitions.”

Contributing to Fallon's decision was the apparently deteriorating health of Kenneth Weiss, USR's founder and the inventor of each of the four patents. Weiss, who according to Fallon's opinion, suffers from congestive heart failure and atrial fibrillation at the age of 76, is expected to be a key witness at the July 2020 trial.

Apple had argued that health concerns alone are not enough to warrant a conclusion of undue prejudice; however, Fallon sided with USR in finding that Weiss' age and health weighed against a stay in the early stages of the case. Objections to the order are due Oct. 3.

Under Fallon's ruling, Apple may renew its motion for a stay if the PTAB decides to institute IPR proceedings. Should the PTAB grant Apple's request, a final decision on the patents' validity is expected by late 2019, according to the opinion. Discovery in the infringement case is expected to wrap up by next July.

Attorneys from both sides were not immediately available to comment.

USR is represented by attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell.

Apple is represented by Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Richards, Layton & Finger is acting as local counsel.

The case, captioned Universal Secure Registry v. Apple, has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly.

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