Jeannine Yoo Sano Image

Jeannine Yoo Sano

Partner

Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider

Jeannine Sano is a partner with Axinn. She has nearly thirty years of experience trying cases in patent venues across the country in various technology fields, including mobile communications, video processing, graphics, operating systems, CPUs, chipsets, memory, LCD manufacturing, and medical devices.

She has tried cases in the Northern and Eastern Districts of Texas, Northern District of Illinois, Middle District of Florida, and the Northern District of California, in addition to handling investigations before the United States International Trade Commission, IPRs and CBMs before the United States Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and appeals before the Federal Circuit. Jeannine has also presented oral argument before the California Court of Appeal on an issue of first impression on the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, resulting in affirmance of summary judgment and an award of attorneys’ fees.

Recent Articles by Jeannine Yoo Sano

USPTO’s ANPRM Sets the Stage for Latest Revamp of the Discretionary Denial Process

Between the precedential Fintiv decision in March of 2020 and Director Vidal’s Guidance Memo regarding the application of Fintiv in June of 2022, the discretionary denial rates of inter partes review (IPR) institution decisions under 35 U.S.C. § 314(a) plummeted from 40-50% to 11-16%. Coupled with the order issued by the Chief Judge of the Western District of Texas in July of 2022 declaring that all new patent cases filed in the Waco Division will be randomly assigned among the 12 judges in the district, the substantial decline in denials based on Fintiv in 2022 was not surprising. Now, amid speculations that Fintiv denial rates will increase once again, the USPTO recently announced a set of proposed rules on discretionary denial practice in an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM).