Page Vault Resources

IPR Just Got Stricter: What the New PTAB Rule Means—and Why Page Vault Already Has You Covered

Last Updated August 2025

TL;DR

• Deadline alert: Inter Partes Review (IPR) petitions filed on or after Sept 1, 2025 must pin-cite every single claim element to a prior-art patent or printed publication—no more plug-and-play with Applicant Admitted Prior Art (AAPA), expert testimony, or general knowledge.
  
  
• Bigger evidence load: With AAPA off-limits for elements, petitioners will lean harder on non-patent literature (NPL)—web manuals, standards, GitHub docs—raising the stakes on public-accessibility and authenticity fights.
  
  
• Good news: Page Vault already delivers authenticated, paginated, exhibit-ready captures with URL, timestamp, SHA-256 hash, and optional affidavits—exactly what the new rule demands.
  
  

What’s Changed at the UPTO—and Why It Matters

On July 31, 2025, the USPTO issued a three-page memo instructing the PTAB to stop waiving and start enforcing Rule 42.104(b)(4). For petitions filed after September 1, every claim limitation must be mapped to a pinpoint location in a printed publication or patent. Anything else—including AAPA—can no longer supply a missing element (though it can still explain motivation to combine). The Office says the bright-line approach aligns PTAB practice with the Federal Circuit’s recent Shockwave decision and will cut down on remands. 

What’s New at Page Vault: Celebrating Our 2025 Feature Drops

Last Updated August 2025

If 2025 had a theme for us, it’d be: “Make it faster, make it easier, and let legal teams do more.”

Digital Spoliation Is No Longer Hypothetical: Lessons from Recent Sanctions Over Missing Web Content

Last Updated June 2025

Attorneys understand the duty to preserve evidence under common law and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. But in today’s digital environment, dynamic web content — websites, social media, ephemeral communications — presents an especially volatile category of electronically stored information (ESI). A Terms of Service page can change without notice. A tweet can disappear overnight. If these losses occur after the duty to preserve arises, courts are no longer hesitant to impose significant sanctions (see Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e)).

The Minefield of Deleted Posts: When You Don’t Capture It Before It’s Gone

Last Updated June 2025

Online content disappears faster than most realize. A tweet is removed. A website is quietly edited. A post vanishes without notice. If that content becomes relevant to litigation, compliance, or an internal investigation, the opportunity to preserve it may already be lost. Historically, tools like Google’s cache or the Wayback Machine offered a second chance. But that safety net? It’s not holding up anymore.

Influencers in Court: When Online Personalities Become Key Evidence

Last Updated June 2025

As social media continues to shape how we communicate and consume information, social media influencers hold substantial sway over public opinion and consumer behavior. But with that influence comes a growing wave of legal scrutiny. More and more, influencers are finding themselves at the center of legal disputes, where their online content—and the personas they’ve crafted—play a key role in court. This article examines several high-profile cases involving influencers, exploring the legal challenges around authenticity, the admissibility of digital content, and what these developments mean for the future of influencer marketing. 

The Fight Against Online Dupes and Counterfeits: Strategic Insights for Legal Professionals

Last Updated June 2025

Counterfeit goods and dupes represent an ever evolving and significant challenge for legal professionals tasked with intellectual property enforcement and brand protection. Counterfeits, which are unauthorized replicas often involving direct misuse of logos and trademarks, aim to deceive consumers while eroding brand trust and market value. Dupes, on the other hand, mimic the style, design, and functionality of premium products without directly copying protected elements, making them harder to litigate against and posing unique challenges in the IP landscape.

The consequences of counterfeit and dupe proliferation extend beyond economic losses for brands—they can also diminish consumer trust, lead to safety concerns, and weaken market integrity. As online marketplaces and social media platforms continue to evolve, so too must the strategies for monitoring and enforcing intellectual property rights.