Sterne Kessler Delivers PTAB Victory on Trifecta of Memory Patents for Polaris PowerLED

Washington, D.C. (July 18, 2025) – Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox secured denial of three inter partes review (IPR) petitions at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) on behalf of client Polaris PowerLED Technologies, LLC (Polaris PowerLED).

In a decision issued July 16, 2025, USPTO Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart granted Polaris PowerLED’s request for discretionary denial of three IPR petitions filed by Sandisk Technologies, Inc. and Western Digital Technologies, Inc. The IPRs challenged U.S. Patent Nos. 9,183,085; 8,601,346; and 8,554,968, which relate to nonvolatile memory controllers.

In the decision, Stewart notes that “the challenged patents have been in force for approximately nine, twelve, and twelve years, creating strong settled expectations, and Petitioner does not provide any persuasive reasoning why an inter partes review is an appropriate use of Board resources.”

Polaris PowerLED Technologies is an innovative technology company that owns patented technologies used throughout the consumer electronics and lighting industries.

The Sterne Kessler team representing Polaris PowerLED includes Directors Richard Bemben, Jason Fitzsimmons, Tyler Dutton, and Michael Specht. The cases are IPR2025-00515; IPR2025-00516; IPR2025-00517, Sandisk Technologies, Inc. v. Polaris PowerLED Technologies, LLC. View the decision.

About Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox

Based in Washington, D.C. and renowned for more than four decades for dedication to the protection, enhancement, and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox is one of the most highly regarded intellectual property specialty law firms in the world. Its team of attorneys, registered patent agents, technical specialists, specialized trademark paralegals, and law clerks include some of the country’s most respected practitioners of IP law, tackling innovations across a broad spectrum of industries. The firm’s practitioners represent Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, inventors, venture capital firms, and universities in a client service driven environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and intellectually stimulating. Visit the firm online at sternekessler.com.