Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Tomorrow the court will hear oral argument in an en banc case challenging President Trump’s tariffs. Also, since our last update, the court received one new amicus brief in a design patent case, and it denied two petitions for en banc review in two utility patent cases. Here are the details.
En Banc Case
Tomorrow the en banc court will hear oral argument in the en banc case challenging President Trump’s tariffs, V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump. For more information, check out our argument preview.
En Banc Petitions
Amicus Briefs
Since our last update, one new amicus brief has been filed.
In North Star Technology International Ltd. v. Latham Pool Products, Inc. North Star asked the court to consider “[w]hether the undefined and standardless ‘sufficiently distinct’ test for design-patent infringement, as well as its application at the summary-judgment stage, conflicts with Gorham Co. v. White, 81 U.S. 511 (1871), and a court’s obligations under Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986), and other summary-judgment precedent.”
Oake Law Office, PLLC filed an amicus brief arguing that “the grant of summary judgment in this case was improper” since, “[i]n addition to lack of a proper standard,” the Federal Circuit “and the district court failed to assess the designs as a whole, misapplied or failed to apply the prior art, and misapplied the functionality doctrine.” Oake maintains that a “proper infringement analysis on motion for summary judgment should require application of the standards proposed by Appellants and Amicus, and an overall visual comparison by an ordinary observer.”
Denials
Since our last update the Federal Circuit denied en banc rehearing in the following cases:
- Li v. Apple Inc. (invalidity)
- Recentive Analytics, Inc. v. Fox Corp. (eligibility and machine learning)