FedCircuitBlog

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:

• an article discussing how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has “formally ended fast-tracking examination of design patents applications, citing efforts to reduce pendency and combat fraud”;
• a blog post describing how U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick “sent a letter to Harvard University President Alan Garber informing him that the U.S. government is planning to ‘march in’ on its patents” under the Bayh-Dole Act; and
• a piece indicating “[i]nvestigators have uncovered evidence that Russia is at least partly responsible for a recent hack of the computer system that manages federal court documents.”

Late last month, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Jiaxing Super Lighting Electric Appliance, Co. v. CH Lighting Technology Co., a patent infringement case we have been tracking because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed a judgment of the Western District of Texas, which granted a partial judgment as a matter of law that asserted patents are not invalid and entered judgment on a jury verdict of infringement and no invalidity. The panel, consisting of Judges Dyk, Chen, and Hughes, affirmed the jury’s verdict as to one of the patents, reversed the districts court’s JMOL that two of the asserted patents were not invalid, vacated the damages award, and remanded the case for a new trial on the validity of two of the asserted patents and damages for all three patents. This is our opinion summary.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released two precedential opinions. Both come in cases appealed from the Court of Federal Claims, with one dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and the other a takings case. The Federal Circuit also released two nonprecedential opinions, both in patent cases, one appealed from a district court and one from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Lastly, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the dismissal.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released a precedential opinion in a patent case appealed from the District of Delaware and a nonprecedential opinion in another patent case appealed from the Southern District of California. The Federal Circuit also released an errata in a patent case decided in late July and a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the errata and dismissal.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, a party filed its reply brief in a pending en banc case raising questions related to statutory interpretation and agency deference. As for pending petitions, the Federal Circuit received two new responses to petitions in patent cases, the court invited a response to a petition in a design patent case, and the court denied two petitions in two other patent cases. Here are the details.

Late last month, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Dinh v. United States, a case we have been monitoring because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed a dismissal by the Court of Federal Claims of a takings claim. The Court of Federal Claims held that, because congressional action did not explicitly devalue certain bonds or require transferring funds to repay the bonds to the Puerto Rican government, there was no taking. The Federal Circuit, in a panel opinion authored by Judge Stoll and joined by Chief Judge Moore and Judge Gilstrap (sitting by designation from the Eastern District of Texas), affirmed. This is our opinion summary.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released a precedential opinion granting a motion to dismiss a takings case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims. The Federal Circuit also released two nonprecedential opinions in cases appealed from the Court of Federal Claims and the Court of International Trade, as well as a nonprecedential order granting summary affirmance in another case appealed from the Court of Federal Claims. Lastly, the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential orders transferring appeals to the District of Columbia and the Northern District of California and four nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and order granting summary affirmance and links to the transfers and dismissals.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:

• an article discussing how “President Trump on Friday said a potential U.S. court ruling denying his authority to impose a wide range of global tariffs could have devastating impacts on the US economy”;
• a post on highlighting how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office “has thrown out tens of thousands of applications and registrations for trademarks prepared by a Chinese company that allegedly forged signatures and doled out legal advice despite not having the training to do so”;
• a piece describing how a “memo last week to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board specif[ied] that petitioners for inter partes review must link all limitations to prior art, without relying on expert testimony or ‘general knowledge’”;
• an article covering how “[t]he electronic case filing system used by the federal judiciary has been breached in a sweeping cyber intrusion that is believed to have exposed sensitive court data across multiple U.S. states”; and
• an article examining how “[t]he Trump administration on Friday ordered a comprehensive review of Harvard University’s federally funded research programs, and threatened to take title to or grant licenses from the school’s lucrative portfolio of patents.”

Late Friday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released a precedential opinion in a patent case appealed from the District of Utah, two nonprecedential opinions in pro se cases appealed from the Court of Federal Claims, and a nonprecedential opinion in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The Federal Circuit also released a nonprecedential order transferring a case to the Ninth Circuit along with four other nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the transfer and dismissals.

Here is an update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases involve at least one amicus brief. We keep track of these cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. Today, with respect to these cases, we highlight two new opinions, one in a patent infringement case and one in a takings case. We also highlight two recent oral arguments in two patent cases, a new reply brief filed in another patent case, and a new amicus brief in another patent case. Here are the details.