Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:
- commentary on the swearing in of new Federal Circuit Judge Tiffany P. Cunningham;
- discussion of a recent precedential Federal Circuit opinion applying the limitation on patent damages found in 35 U.S.C. § 287(a); and
- an article discussing the Federal Circuit’s determination that appointments to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board do not violate the Appointments Clause.
Scott Graham reported for Law.com on the “big news of the week,” referring to “[t]he court’s newest judge, Tiffany Cunningham, [being] formally sworn in during a private ceremony at the courthouse on Sept. 1.” Graham highlighted that “[t]he former Perkins Coie partner is the first African American to join the Federal Circuit bench and her addition brings gender parity to its 12 active members.”
Eileen McDermott authored an article for IPWatchdog explaining how the Federal Circuit’s recently ruled that, “[f]or purposes of section 287(a), notice must be of ‘the infringement,’ not merely notice of the patent’s existence or ownership.”
Blake Brittain reported for Reuters on the Federal Circuit’s determination that “[t]he director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has enough power over the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to avoid its patent counterpart’s constitutional issue.” In Piano Factory Group Inc v. Schiedmayer Celesta GmbH, Sweet 16 argued that “the TTAB judges who decided the case had been unconstitutionally appointed.” Brittain, however, highlighted Judge Bryson’s conclusion that “the TTAB doesn’t have the same issue [as PTAB judges] because the Trademark Modernization Act of 2020 explicitly confirmed the director’s authority to review decisions of the TTAB.”