FedCircuitBlog

Today the Federal Circuit announced that, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the court has canceled its Judicial Conference previously scheduled for May 15, 2020 in Washington DC, including all related events. The court indicated it hopes to reschedule the conference.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, there is no activity to report this week. With respect to petitions cases, new petitions were filed in five cases, two amicus briefs were filed in another case, and the Court denied a petition. Here are the details.

This afternoon the Federal Circuit issued an “Updated Public Advisory Concerning the Federal Circuit’s April 2020 Sitting.” In it, the court announced it is converting all remaining oral arguments still scheduled for April to telephonic hearings. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a patent case. Notably, in a concurrence in that case, all three judges on the panel express their view that, were the relevant statute ambiguous, they “would find that no deference is due” to a prior opinion issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Precedential Opinion Panel. Here are the introductions to the majority and concurring opinions.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Highlights include new petitions filed in thirteen cases raising questions related to the Appointments Clause, venue, and claim construction and the denial of six petitions raising questions related to non-obviousness, anticipation, inherency, procedure, the statutory experimental use exception, and the Appointments Clause. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in a patent case, a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case, a nonprecedential opinion in an MSPB case, and a nonprecedential order denying a petition for a writ of mandamus in a patent case. Here are the introductions to the opinions and text from the order.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights an article discussing the Federal Circuit’s modification to its April oral argument schedule given the coronavirus pandemic, a note on the denial of a request by the Electronic Frontier Fountain for the Federal Circuit to broadcast an upcoming hearing, and a press release announcing a Supreme Court petition challenging the Federal Circuit’s affirmation of a Court of Claims decision rejecting a takings challenge to the re-allocation of irrigation water rights by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a “Public Advisory Restricting Access to the National Courts Building,” which puts in place restrictions effective at noon Eastern time today. The Advisory indicates these restrictions “will help promote the safety and health of both court staff and members of the public conducting court business.”

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a patent case, one nonprecedential opinion in a patent case, and six Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a list of Rule 36 judgments.

This month we highlight two papers and two books. The first paper analyzes opinion assignments within the Federal Circuit, while the second paper considers the remedy of disgorgement in intellectual property cases. The first book focuses on the challenges 3D printing poses to traditional intellectual property regimes, while the second book analyzes the possibility of standardizing remedies for patent infringement in the context of complex products like smartphones and laptops.