FedCircuitBlog

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

• an article suggesting the timing of the Supreme Court ruling on President Trump’s tariff case might be related to the idea “SCOTUS would presumably want to give guidance to lower courts on how they should rule on these suits”;
• a blog post discussing a recent Federal Circuit dissenting opinion that “offers an attack on how the Federal Circuit has been applying the ‘plainly dissimilar’ standard for design patent infringement”;
• an article indicating that, “[o]ver the past few months, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has treated artificial intelligence and machine learning inventions more favorably under Section 101 of the U.S. Patent Act than they have been in years”; and
• an article suggesting inter partes reviews “are essentially unavailable for the majority of patents now being asserted in litigation.”

This morning, the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are links to the dismissals.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, there has been no new activity at the Supreme Court in the two pending cases decided by the Federal Circuit. As for petitions, a new petition was filed in a pro se case and two waivers of the right to respond to petitions were filed in two other pro se cases. Here are the details.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released two precedential opinions, one nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal, and one Rule 36 judgment. One of the opinions addresses antitrust liability for unlawful tying in a patent infringement case; the other comes in an appeal of a decision of the Court of Federal Claims in a vaccine case. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissals and the judgment.

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

• an article analyzing the “possible outcomes . . . and the downstream impact of the Supreme Court decision” in President Trump’s tariffs case;
• a commentary discussing how the Supreme Court’s intervention in the “skinny label” patent case “has drawn immediate attention from pharmaceutical companies and their counsel”;
• a blog post arguing “it is time for the Supreme Court to step in and provide a definition and workable test for the abstract-ideas exclusion”; and
• an article addressing whether “the U.S. patent system has shown measurable signs of becoming more favorable to patent owners, particularly in the context of post-grant proceedings such as inter partes review . . . and post-grant review.”

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential opinion dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released three nonprecedential opinions and three additional nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. One of the opinions comes in a patent infringement case; the other two come in pro se challenges to decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissals.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, one new petition for en banc rehearing has been filed, raising a question related to claims of unfair competition under the Lanham Act. The Federal Circuit also denied two petitions for en banc rehearing in patent cases that raised questions related to marking, attorneys fees, eligibility, and appellate procedure. Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released a precedential opinion in a patent case that reverses a district court and finds all asserted claims invalid for lack of eligibility. The Federal Circuit also released two nonprecedential opinions, one in another patent case appealed from another district court and another in a pro se case appealed from the Court of Veterans Appeals. The Federal Circuit also released a nonprecedential order transferring a case, an errata, and a Rule 36 summary affirmance. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the transfer, errata, and summary affirmance.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential opinions and three Rule 36 judgments. Two of the nonprecedential opinions come in patent infringement cases appealed from district courts, while the other two come in appeals of decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the judgments and dismissal.

Last month, the Federal Circuit released its opinion in Crocs, Inc. v. International Trade Commission, a trademark case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed the International Trade Commission’s finding of no violation as to one set of parties (the “Active Respondents”) and the Commission’s entry of a limited exclusion order against another set of parties (the “Defaulting Respondents”). In an opinion authored by Judge Stoll, a panel of the court consisting of Judges Lourie, Stoll, and Chen dismissed the appeal in part and affirmed the Commission’s decision in part. This is our opinion summary.