This morning the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential opinion reversing and remanding a patent case back to the Court of Federal Claims. Judge Hughes filed an opinion concurring in the judgment. The court also released an order dismissing a petition for a writ of mandamus. Here are the introductions to the opinions and order.
Ideal Innovations, Inc. v. United States (Nonprecedential)
Ideal Innovations, Inc., Right Problem, LLC, and Robert Kocher appeal a grant of summary judgment by the United States Court of Federal Claims that resulted in dismissal of their action. On appeal, Appellants argue that the trial court, in reaching its summary judgment conclusion, failed to consider all the evidence related to testing of the invention. We conclude that the issue of testing is a genuine issue of material fact, and, therefore, summary judgment is inappropriate. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.
HUGHES, Circuit Judge, concurring.
I concur in the judgment. I agree that the sufficiency of testing to show reduction to practice is a factual issue that should not have been decided at summary judgment and that Appellants preserved—but just barely—that argument. I write separately, however, to emphasize that I do not fault the trial court for this error. In failing to make clear that the issue was factual in nature, and not legal, Appellants invited such error. Moreover, although the trial court should have decided sufficiency of testing as a factual, rather than a legal issue, the record evidence would have fully supported its decision as a matter of fact.
In re Alfresco Software, Ltd. (Nonprecedential Order)
Upon consideration of Alfresco Software, Ltd.’s notice that its petition for a writ of mandamus is now moot in light of the district court’s reconsideration order granting Alfresco’s motion to transfer this case to the United States District Court for the Central District of California,
IT IS ORDERED THAT:
(1) Alfresco’s petition is dismissed.
(2) All pending motions are denied.