This week (and as it turns out, next Monday) is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene 13 panels to consider 75 cases. Of these 75 cases, the court will hear oral arguments in 49. The Federal Circuit provides access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. This month, four cases scheduled for oral argument attracted amicus briefs. Here’s what you need to know about these cases.
Vicor Corp. v. International Trade Commission
As explained in our argument preview, Vicor appeals a finding by the International Trade Commission that two manufacturing companies, respondents in the ITC investigation and intervenors in this appeal, obtained a license to Vicor’s patents, and thus were not subject to the limited exclusion order granted by the ITC. This case presents questions related to licenses and contract formation under the Uniform Commercial Code.
Steven Seigel will argue on behalf of Vicor.
Joelle Justus will argue on behalf of the ITC.
John O’Quinn will argue on behalf of the intervenors, FII USA Inc. and Ingrasys Technology Inc.
Oral argument is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday November 3 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 402.
Arbutus Biopharma Corp. v. Moderna, Inc.
As explained in our argument preview, Moderna appeals a district court’s ruling that its COVID-19 vaccine production under a government contract was not protected by 28 U.S.C. § 1498(a) for doses that were not administrated directly to U.S. government employees. This case presents questions related to statutory interpretation and the scope of the government-use defense in patent infringement litigation.
David Berl will argue on behalf of Arbutus.
William Jay will argue on behalf of Moderna.
McKaye Neumeister will argue on behalf of the United States as amicus curiae.
Oral argument is scheduled to be heard on Thursday November 5 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom 402.
In re Blaze Mobile, Inc. and In re Blaze Mobile, Inc.
Two related cases, both styled In re Blaze Mobile, will be argued together this week. As explained in our first and second argument previews, in these cases Blaze Mobile appeals judgments of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, which affirmed examiners’ rejections of every claim of two patents during ex parte reexaminations. These cases present questions related to claim construction and non-obviousness.
Oral argument is scheduled to be heard on Monday November 9 at 2:00 p.m. in Courtroom 402.