The court found that Moderna had failed to prove standing because it originally based its standing argument on the fact that it was a sublicensee of Arbutus' patent, rather than on the risk of infringement in the future. At the time of filing the IPR, in a pre-COVID world, Moderna's sublicense was granted to practice the patented technology for four viral targets, including Respiratory Syncytial Virus ("RSV"). Then, in March 2021, Moderna filed a motion to supplement the record with additional evidence of standing, specifically the company's development of the COVID-19 vaccines and Arbutus' public statements in 2017 alleging the "extensive scope" of its patents. The CAFC found in this case that Moderna did not have standing at the time the appeal was initially filed because Moderna's evidence of financial burdens as a sublicensee from the validity of the patent was "too speculative." The court explained: