Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:
- a blog post reporting on V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump and how “[t]he Trump administration . . . urged the Supreme Court to uphold President Donald Trump’s power to impose sweeping tariffs”;
- a commentary discussing how “President Donald Trump’s global tariffs and his bid to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook . . . are now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide how far he can go to reshape and control the levers of the economy”;
- a blog post explaining how “[r]ecent cases involving design patents on appeal to . . . the Federal Circuit highlight significant developments and issues”; and
- an article addressing how “the U.S. Senate has confirmed John Squires to serve as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.”
Amy Howe penned a blog post for SCOTUSblog reporting on V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump and how “[t]he Trump administration . . . urged the Supreme Court to uphold President Donald Trump’s power to impose sweeping tariffs.” In the post, Howe explains how “the Trump administration . . . argued that IEEPA’s grant of power to the president to ‘regulate importation’ ‘plainly authorizes the President to impose tariffs'” and that “reliance [on the major questions doctrine] was misplaced.” Howe adds that the Trump administration “urged the court to uphold the president’s determination that trade deficits and drug trafficking constitute national emergencies for purposes of invoking IEEPA.” For more information, check out the relevant case page in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump.
Andrew Chung wrote a commentary for Reuters discussing how “President Donald Trump’s global tariffs and his bid to oust Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook . . . are now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, which will decide how far he can go to reshape and control the levers of the economy.” In the commentary, Chung suggests “[t]he consequences of the court’s actions in these cases are major for the nation’s economy and monetary policy, with potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in tariffs on imports.” Again, for more information on this case, check out the relevant case page.
George Raynal authored a blog post for IPWatchdog explaining how “[r]ecent cases involving design patents on appeal to . . . the Federal Circuit highlight significant developments and issues.” Raynal notes how, in 2024, the Federal Circuit abandoned “its longstanding Rosen-Durling obviousness jurisprudence” and instead adopted the Graham factors. He cautions that, with this new approach, “it is now possible that ‘what was valid before is invalid today.’” Beyond obviousness, Raynal highlights “developing jurisprudence on prior art for design patent infringement.”
Dani Kass authored an article for Law360 addressing how “the U.S. Senate has confirmed John Squires to serve as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.” According to Kass, “attorneys are looking for him to provide clear rules and consistent practices.” Kass discusses how some attorneys hope that “Squires would address the ever-frustrating application of patent eligibility law and concerns about agency staffing and examinations.”