FedCircuitBlog

Today the White House announced President Biden’s intent to nominate Leonard Stark, currently a District Judge for the District of Delaware, to serve as a Circuit Judge on the Federal Circuit. The announcement highlighted Judge Stark’s extensive experience serving as a judge in the District of Delaware, which handles a substantial share of the nation’s patent infringement cases at the trial level. This announcement follows news of Judge Kathleen O’Malley’s planned retirement, scheduled for March, 2022. Notably, this will be President Biden’s second nomination to the Federal Circuit, following the nomination of now-Judge Tiffany Cunningham. Here is the text of today’s announcement, followed by some additional information about Judge Stark.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. The court received two new petitions, one raising a question related to comparable licenses and royalty calculations and another raising a question related to the written description requirement. The court received three more amicus briefs in support of rehearing en banc in a case that raises questions concerning the inducement doctrine’s interaction with the Hatch-Waxman amendments. Finally, the court denied three petitions for rehearing en banc, one raising a question related to writs of mandamus and two raising the same questions related to patent eligibility. Here are the details.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• an article about last Friday’s Fed Circuit Blog symposium, noting how two law professors “argued . . . that it might be time to reevaluate the 40-year ‘experiment’ of the Federal Circuit”;
• another article about Friday’s symposium, explaining that other “law professors . . . were torn between whether the appeals court was ‘overstepping’ or reacting rationally to a judge who does not always take the court’s direction”;
• a blog post discussing the backgrounds of the judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board; and
• an article analyzing a recent Federal Circuit ruling that a “heart monitor patent . . . is invalid for claiming only an abstract idea.”

The Federal Circuit did not release any opinions or orders this morning on its website.

This week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit, with hearings starting today. Arguments are being held in person absent granted motions for leave to appear remotely, and the Federal Circuit is also providing access to live audio of each panel scheduled for argument via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. In total, the court will convene 14 panels to consider about 59 cases. Of these 59 cases, the court will hear oral arguments in 52. Of these argued cases, three attracted amicus briefs: an Equal Access to Justice Act case, a trademark case, and a tax case. Here’s what you need to know about these three cases.

Today the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in an employment case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The court also issued two nonprecedential opinions in patent cases. The first comes in a case appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, and the second comes in a case appealed from the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• an article discussing how the Federal Circuit recently denied a mandamus petition;
• another article analyzing the Federal Circuit’s recent rejection of constitutional challenges to inter partes revew proceedings;
• another article focusing on how recent Federal Circuit decisions “have strengthened arguments for invalidating drug patents in two areas”; and
• a blog post explaining how “the Federal Circuit assesses the equitable powers of a legislative court: the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.”

This week we have previewed three cases being argued next week at the Federal Circuit that attracted amicus briefs. We had planned to preview one additional case, Cross v. Office of Personnel Management. In this case, Cross asks the Federal Circuit to reverse a decision of the Merits System Protection Board regarding survival benefits. Notably, the Merit Systems Protection Board filed an amicus brief. The court, however, postponed the oral argument for this case until further notice.

The Federal Circuit did not release any opinions or orders this morning on its website.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to the Supreme Court’s October 2021 term, the Court still has not granted any petitions in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, however, a pro se party filed one new petition with the Court in a patent case. As for previously filed petitions, one amicus brief in a veterans case and one waiver of right to respond in a pro se case were filed. Here are the details.