Mark Selwyn of WilmerHale (left) and Mark Davies of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. (Photo: Courtesy Photo)

The technology industry has launched a two-pronged litigation assault on a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office policy that the industry says is costing it access to the America Invents Act.

Apple Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Google LLC and Intel Corp. sued PTO Director Andrei Iancu in the Northern District of California on Monday. They're seeking a declaration that the agency's Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) is too often deferring to rocket-docket district court litigation when it should be hearing the companies' administrative challenges to patent validity instead.