Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:
- an article discussing how administrative judges at the Merit Systems Protection Board have “seen a flood of new cases land on their dockets, causing their caseloads to increase by the week;”
- a blog post focusing on United States Patent and Trademark Office Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s “newly implemented ‘settled expectations’ doctrine that treats patent age as a primary factor for denying institution;”
- a piece claiming “acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s discretionary denial in the iRhythm Technologies Inc. v. Welch Allyn Inc. cases on June 6 has sent shockwaves through the patent litigation community;” and
- an article maintaining “[p]roposed legislation to change the process adjudicating patent infringement in cases involving ‘skinny labels’ is a solution in search of a problem.”
Drew Friedman posted an article on the Federal News Network discussing how administrative judges at the Merit Systems Protection Board have “seen a flood of new cases land on their dockets, causing their caseloads to increase by the week.” According to Friedman, “at the same time that MSPB is experiencing its highest case volume in recent memory, the agency is also facing its lowest staffing levels in years.” Friedman reported how “[n]early 12,000 federal employees have filed appeals with MSPB so far in fiscal 2025,” and “[o]ver 10,000 of those appeals were submitted . . . as the government wide firings of probationary federal employees took place.”
Dennis Crouch authored a blog post for PatentlyO focusing on United States Patent and Trademark Office Acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s “newly implemented ‘settled expectations’ doctrine that treats patent age as a primary factor for denying institution.” According to Crouch, settled expectations doctrine “creates a temporal shield for older patents and calls forth some interesting parallels to existing doctrine, including laches and trademark incontestability.” Crouch wrote that the “settled expectations doctrine represents a significant shift” in Patent Trial and Appeal Board practice.
David McCombs penned a piece for Law 360 claiming “acting Director Coke Morgan Stewart’s discretionary denial in the iRhythm Technologies Inc. v. Welch Allyn Inc. cases on June 6 has sent shockwaves through the patent litigation community.” According to McCombs, this denial has raised “concerns that mere knowledge of a patent—regardless of context or industry practice—could now bar inter partes review institution.” McCombs, however, also suggested this case “is unique,” arguing “its holding should not be reflexively applied to all petitioners, especially large companies routinely engaged in patent litigation.”
Irena Royzman and Dana Sublett wrote an article for Bloomberg Law maintaining “[p]roposed legislation to change the process adjudicating patent infringement in cases involving ‘skinny labels’ is a solution in search of a problem.” According to Royzman and Sublett, “two Federal Circuit cases in recent years have shown the legal framework for assessing patent infringement remains stable and balanced.” Royzman and Sbulett also highlighted how, despite claims the Federal Circuit “is undermining generics’ ability to rely on skinny labeling,” the court “made clear its holdings were fact-specific and weren’t intended to change the law or balance of power on skinny labeling.”