FedCircuitBlog

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonpreceential order dismissing an appeal in a patent case. This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion affirming a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board and one nonprecedential opinion vacating and remanding a decision of the Trademark trial and Appeal Board. The Federal Circuit also released three nonprecedential orders. One transfers a case, and one dismisses an appeal. Notably, in the third order, the Federal Circuit adopted a briefing schedule and set oral argument for July 31 in the case challenging President Trump’s tariffs. Here are the introductions to the opinions and the order in the tariff case and links to the transfer and dismissals.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:

• a report covering how the Federal Circuit “agreed on Tuesday to allow President Trump to maintain many of his tariffs on China and other U.S. trading partners, extending a pause granted shortly after another panel of judges ruled in late May that the import taxes were illegal”;
• an article describing how “President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed a favorable decision by [the Federal Circuit] over his sweeping tariff policy as a ‘great’ win for the United States”;
• a piece addressing how “[t]he typically apolitical and staid US Patent and Trademark Office has been swept up in the Trump administration’s efforts to reshape the federal workforce”;
• a blog post discussing how “[t]he Trump Administration’s nominee for U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Director, John Squires, has submitted written responses for the record following his May 21 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee”; and
• an article highlighting how “[t]he acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director’s decision on Friday to reject patent challenges due to the petitioner’s longstanding knowledge of a patent has many attorneys bracing for either a massive rise or dip in Patent Trial and Appeal Board filings.”

This morning, the Federal Circuit released three opinions in patent cases appealed from the Eastern District of Texas. Two were precedential and one was nonprecedential. The precedential opinions address subject matter jurisdiction in a declaratory judgment action and patent eligibility, respectively. The nonprecedential opinion addresses patent eligibility. Notably, all three opinions address patents asserted by United Services Automobile Association, and the two opinions addressing eligibility invalidate the asserted patents. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

Here is this month’s update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases involve at least one amicus brief. We keep track of these cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. Today, with respect to these cases we highlight several new opinions issued, relating to takings, trade, patents, and trademarks. Also, there was one principal and response brief filed in a patent case and two new reply briefs filed in two other patent cases. There were no new cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit that attracted at least one amicus brief. Here are the details.

In late April, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Marmen Inc. v. United States, a case we’ve been tracking because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, Marmen appealed a judgment of the Court of International Trade, which sustained a final determination by the Department of Commerce of a 4.94% dumping margin for utility-scale wind towers from Canada. In an opinion authored by Judge Prost and joined by Judges Taranto and Chen, the Federal Circuit vacated the judgment and remanded the case for further proceedings. This is our opinion summary.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted petitions, there has been no new activity since our last post. With respect to pending petitions, one new petition was filed in a patent case; two waivers of right to respond to petitions were filed in patent cases; a new brief in opposition was filed in a patent case; and the Court denied two petitions, one in a patent case and one in a pro se case. Here are the details.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released three nonprecedential orders. As we separately noted, in one of these orders the en banc Federal Circuit stayed the Court of International Trade’s injunctions of President Trump’s tariffs. In yesterday’s other two nonprecedential orders, the court dismissed appeals. This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion and one nonprecedential opinion. The precedential opinion comes in a patent case, in which the court affirmed two final written decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. In the nonprecedential opinion, the court dismissed a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions and orders (other than yesterday’s en banc order, which can be found here) and links to the dismissals.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit issued an en banc nonprecedential order granting the motions filed by the United States for stays of the judgments and permanent injunctions entered by the Court of International Trade against President Trump’s Executive Orders imposing various tariffs. The court concluded that “a stay is warranted under the circumstances,” and that “these cases present issues of exceptional importance warranting expedited en banc consideration of the merits in the first instance.” Here is the full text of the order.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in an en banc government contract case. The Federal Circuit also received two amicus briefs and the government’s reply brief in President Trump’s pending case involving tariffs, in which the en banc court granted an immediate administrative stay of the judgments and permanent injunctions entered by the Court of International Trade. As for petitions, the court received an amicus brief in a case with a petition raising questions related to interpretation of the statute defining the power of the International Trade Commission. The Federal Circuit also denied a petition in a patent case. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and one Rule 36 summary affirmance. The first nonprecedential opinion comes in an appeal from a decision of an arbitrator in a case in which a former employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs challenged her 90-day suspension and requirements she agree to random drug testing and the release of her medical records. The second nonprecedential opinion comes in an appeal from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the summary affirmance.