Background
Maxeon Solar Pte. Ltd. appealed from a Patent Trial and Appeal Board proceeding in IPR2024-01039. Its appeal was docketed as Appeal No. 2026-1500. Canadian Solar, Inc. filed a related appeal from the same proceeding, docketed as Appeal No. 2026-1525, and the two appeals were consolidated.
Maxeon filed an unopposed motion to voluntarily dismiss its appeal. The Federal Circuit considered that request in a nonprecedential order.
The Court’s Holding
The Federal Circuit granted Maxeon’s motion to the extent that it deconsolidated Appeal Nos. 2026-1500 and 2026-1525 and dismissed Maxeon’s Appeal No. 2026-1500. Each party was ordered to bear its own costs.
The court did not dismiss Canadian Solar’s Appeal No. 2026-1525. Instead, it directed that the opening brief in that appeal be filed within 60 days after entry of the order. The order issued as the mandate only for Maxeon’s dismissed appeal.
Key Takeaways
- Maxeon’s unopposed request to voluntarily dismiss Appeal No. 2026-1500 was granted.
- The court deconsolidated the two related appeals before dismissing Maxeon’s appeal.
- Canadian Solar’s Appeal No. 2026-1525 remains pending, with its opening brief due within 60 days of the order.
Why It Matters
The order ends Maxeon’s appellate challenge arising from IPR2024-01039 without resolving the merits and without shifting costs between the parties. It also confirms that dismissal of one party’s appeal does not necessarily terminate a separately docketed cross-appeal from the same PTAB proceeding.