As we have been noting all week, five cases being argued in November at the Federal Circuit attracted amicus briefs. The fifth of those case is Micron Technology Inc. v. Longhorn IP LLC, a patent case. In it, Longhorn IP and Katana Silicon Technologies appeal from a district court’s imposition of bonds they say effectively preclude them from prosecuting claims for patent infringement. This is our argument preview.
In their opening brief, Katana Silicon Technologies LLC and Longhorn IP, LLC argue an Idaho Act requiring the imposition of bonds against bad faith assertions of patent infringement is “unconstitutional and preempted as applied.” They contend the Act is preempted because it “expressly targets federal litigation and badly distorts the balance of rights in patent cases, displacing Congress’s chosen calculus of litigation incentives and disincentives.”
In its response brief, the State of Idaho contends “only one kind of preemption” is asserted: “the subtype of conflict preemption known as obstacle preemption.” Idaho goes on to argue “obstacle preemption applies only when Congress has passed a specific rule to address specific circumstances and state law would interfere.” Idaho maintains, however, that “state-law claims ‘can survive federal preemption’ if they ‘are based on a showing of “bad faith” action in asserting infringement.’”
In their response brief, Micron Technology, Inc., Micron Semiconductor Products, Inc., and Micron Technology Texas, LLC argue the Federal Circuit “should dismiss this appeal” because the provision relied on by the appellants “is reserved for injunctions and injunction-like orders, but the bond here is not an injunction, and it fails the . . . test for injunction-like orders.” Micron further argues that, if the Federal Circuit “concludes it can and should exercise jurisdiction to decide merits issues now, it should affirm.”
Three amicus briefs were filed in this case, all in support of affirmance:
- An amicus brief was filed by North Carolina, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Hawai’i, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia in support of the appellees and affirmance.
- An amicus brief was filed by ACT | The App Association in support of the appellees and affirmance.
- An amicus brief was filed by Computer & Communications Industry Association and High Tech Investors Alliance in support of the appellees and affirmance.
Oral argument is scheduled to be heard on Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 201.