Patent Appeal Against Tech Giants Rejected
On November 17, 2025, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Gesture Technology Partners in a patent dispute that had been brought against Apple, Google, and LG. The appeal concerned whether the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) may invalidate patents that have already expired.
Gesture had accused Apple, Google and LG of infringing a camera-technology patent before it expired in 2020. After the patent expired, the companies challenged it at the PTAB which invalidated the majority of its claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit later declared the entire patent invalid.
The central legal question was whether an expired patent falls under the “public rights” doctrine and thus may be reviewed by the PTAB, or whether only federal courts may review it once the patent expires. Gesture argued that once the patent expired it ceased to implicate public rights and therefore could not be reviewed by an administrative tribunal. The companies and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) contended that review remains permissible because the invalidation serves public interest and the integrity of the patent system.
With the Supreme Court’s denial of review, the lower-court decision stands. This outcome represents a major win for Apple, Google and LG, as it affirms the PTAB’s authority and the Federal Circuit’s decision in this context. The decision is also a signal about the Court’s willingness to let established patent-review procedures stand, rather than expanding courts’ domain over expired patents.
🧭 Why it matters
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It preserves the PTAB’s authority to review and invalidate patents — including those that have expired — which has significant implications for patent-owners and defendants in patent litigation.
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Ensures that large tech companies continue to be able to challenge patents via administrative review even if those patents have expired, reducing litigation risk.
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Impacts the dynamics of patent-licensing, infringement suits and the valuation of older patents, especially in the tech sector.
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Reinforces the precedent that patent validity can be challenged post-expiration, potentially putting value at risk for patent-holders.
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Signals to innovators, investors and companies that the patent-review regime remains a potent tool, and may influence how patents are acquired, defended or litigated.
⚖️ Key Legal Outcomes
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The Supreme Court denied certiorari, leaving intact a lower-court ruling that invalidated the patent at issue.
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The case involved a patent dispute where Gesture alleged infringement of a camera-technology patent by Apple, Google and LG.
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The PTAB had cancelled most of the claims of the patent at issue, and the Federal Circuit declared the entire patent invalid.
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The legal question of whether expired patents lie outside the PTAB’s jurisdiction remains unresolved at the Supreme Court level — but this denial suggests the Court was not willing to disrupt current practice.
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Patent-owners with expired patents face increased vulnerability, while tech companies defending against older patents may have greater certainty in challenging them via PTAB.
