The High Hurdles in Disqualifying Prior Art

The Federal Circuit&rsquo;s decision last fall in Merck Serono S.A. v. Hopewell Pharma Ventures, Inc. , Appeals 2025‑1210, ‑1211 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 30, 2025), reh&rsquo;g and reh&rsquo;g en banc denied (Jan. 22, 2026) ( link ), offers important guidance on the meaning of disclosures &ldquo;by another&rdquo; under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. &sect;&sect; 102(a) and (e)&mdash;a word-pairing that often determines…