Appeals court affirms over tribal immunity

Tribal sovereign immunity “cannot be asserted” in inter partes review (IPR) patent challenge proceedings with the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), a US Court of Appeals has affirmed. The ruling allows to proceed Akorn’s, Mylan’s and Teva’s IPR challenges to certain Restasis (cyclosporine) patents, which Allergan last year sold to the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe and licensed back in a controversial deal.