Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:
- an article covering how “Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman did not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider her bid to save a suit against her fellow judges for suspending her from the bench over her refusal to undergo medical tests”;
- a blog post reporting how the Patent Office “has finalized a rule requiring foreign-domiciled patent applicants, inventors, and owners to be represented by a registered patent practitioner in nearly everything they file;”
- an article discussing how “[m]ajor patent systems, including the United States, require a human inventive contribution”; and
- an article suggesting that “[i]mportant progress has been made on repaying illegally collected tariffs.”
Theresa Schliep wrote an article for Law360 covering how “Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman did not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider her bid to save a suit against her fellow judges for suspending her from the bench over her refusal to undergo medical tests.” Schliep highlights how “John J. Vecchione of the New Civil Liberties Alliance, who is representing Judge Newman, noted that petitions for rehearing after the Supreme Court denies cases ‘are rarely granted.'” According to Schliep, Newman’s counsel “are pursuing other avenues.”
Dennis Crouch published a blog post for PatentlyO reporting how the Patent Office “has finalized a rule requiring foreign-domiciled patent applicants, inventors, and owners to be represented by a registered patent practitioner in nearly everything they file.” Crouch notes the final rule “takes effect July 20, 2026.” According to Crouch, “[i]n many ways this is a fairly small change since already about 97% of foreign-origin non-provisionals already list a U.S. patent practitioner of record.”
Carla Kim authored an article for Reuters discussing how “[m]ajor patent systems, including the United States, require a human inventive contribution.” Kim notes the possibility to “correct certain human inventorship errors,” but notes there is not a way to “supply a human inventor where none exists.” According to Kim, “[o]ne way to reduce inventorship risk is to make the claimed invention reflect human-guided development rather than the AI’s raw output.”
Ilya Somin penned an article for Reason Magazine suggesting that “[i]mportant progress has been made on repaying illegally collected tariffs.” Somin, however, also suggests “serious problems remain.” Highlighting “the administration’s recalcitrance in paying and the various bureaucratic difficulties in getting refunds even to those the administration admits should get them,” Somin argues “courts should not stay injunctions against illegal tariffs while litigation continues.” Somin contends the Federal Circuit “failed to learn these lessons.”