In K-40 Electronics, LLC v. Escort, Inc., IPR2013-00203, Paper 36 (May 30, 2014), the Board reconsidered and modified its previous order allowing live testimony of the inventor.  On the patent owner’s motion, the Board previous ordered that the inventor live testimony would be received, consisting of 30 minutes of cross-examination by petitioner, followed by 30 minutes of redirect by patent owner.  The petitoner objected to this arrangement, arguing that it had nothing new to ask the inventor.  The Board rearraged the hearing so that the patent owner was allowed up to 30 minutes of direct testimony, followed by up to 30 minutes of cross examination by petitioner, with the Petitioner being entitled to use ot to 30 minutes of video recording of Mr, Orr’s deposition testimony.

While it is encouraging to see the Board allow for alternative hearing formats,the value os such live testimony is dubious, since the direct testimony “will be strictly limited to his declaration testimony,” and it puts petition in a awkward position of having to desigate cross examination testimiony in advnace of the direct testimony.  It wil be interesting to see how the June 17, 2014, final hearing goes.