En Banc Activity / Petitions

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Highlights include a new petition in a patent case raising a question concerning prior art for purposes of design patent law and two denials of petitions in two other patent cases raising questions related to the law governing reissue proceedings and fee shifting, respectively. Here are the details.

New Petition

Since our last update, the court received a new petition for rehearing in Columbia Sportswear North America, Inc. v. Seirus Innovative Accessories, Inc., a patent case that asks the court to consider the following question:

  • “Did the panel err in limiting comparison prior art used for design patent infringement analysis by (1) permitting consideration of functional and (2) importing the anticipation standard?”

Denials

Since our last update, the Federal Circuit also denied two petitions for rehearing in the following patent cases: