United States v. Arthrex, Inc.

Summary

The Court held that the unreviewable authority of Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) to issue final decisions in inter partes review violates the Appointments Clause because they are not subject to supervision by a principal officer; therefore 35 U.S.C. §6(c) is unenforceable to the extent it prevents Director review, vacating the Federal Circuit judgment and remanding for the Director to decide whether to rehear the petition.