FedCircuitBlog

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order in a patent case on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion and three nonprecedential opinions. The lone nonprecedential opinion was in an appeal from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Of the nonprecedential opinions, one came in a trademark case, one came in a patent case, and the final one came in a government contract case. Here are the introductions to the opinions and order.

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

• a blog post indicating a recent Federal Circuit opinion provided a “fascinating exploration of three distinct doctrines of equivalence in patent law”;
• another blog post suggesting the USPTO sits “at an inflection point that requires us to build examination capacity to achieve . . . long-term pendency goals”;
• an article discussing how President Trump’s decisions to mandate “a hiring freeze across the federal government” and require “federal government employees come back to the Office five days per week” might impact the USPTO; and
• a news update analyzing how the “Skinny Labels, Big Savings Act, introduced at the end of last year and reintroduced this month in the new Congress,” is seeking to “protect generic-drug makers from patent suits when using so-called skinny labels.”

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, four nonprecedential opinions, two nonprecedential orders, and an erratum. The lone nonprecedential opinion comes in a patent case on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Of the nonprecedential opinions, all four also come in patent cases on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Of the nonprecedential orders, one denies a petition for writ of mandamus and one dismisses an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and the order denying the petition for a writ of mandamus, as well as links to dismissal and erratum.

Here is an update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the case involves 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 a new opinion in a patent case raising a question related to what prior art may be considered during an inter partes review proceeding; four recent oral arguments in two trade and two takings cases; four new cases, including a federal personnel case, a government contract case, a trademark case, and a trade case. Here are the details.

Late the last two days, the Federal Circuit released nonprecedential orders dismissing cases. Additionally, this morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion in a patent case on appeal from the District of Delaware and three nonprecedential opinions. Two of the nonprecedential opinions come in patent cases, while the third comes in a veterans case.  Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the orders.

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

• a report discussing how “Coke Morgan Stewart was sworn in as the new Deputy Undersecretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office;”
• a piece covering how “Trading Technologies (TT) has petitioned the Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit decision raising three significant questions about patent law and civil procedure;
• an article reporting how “[t]op Republicans on the House and Senate VA Committees are leading a bill meant to help the Department of Veterans Affairs fire poor-performing employees more quickly;” and
• a piece describing how the Federal Circuit granted an order “temporarily blocking drugmaker MSN Pharmaceuticals from launching a generic version of Novartis’ blockbuster heart-failure drug Entresto.”

This morning the Federal Circuit released three nonprecedential opinions. Two come in pro se cases and the other is a patent case on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Notably, on Friday the Supreme Court granted certiorari in a veterans case. In addition, one new petition was filed in a patent case presenting questions related to motions under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 60, the judicial exceptions to patent eligibility, and the application of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 in patent cases; the court received waivers of the right to respond to petitions in one patent case and two pro se cases; an amicus brief was filed in a case presenting a question related to the use of Federal Circuit Rule 36 in appeals from decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board; and the Court denied a petition in a patent case. Here are the details.

Last week the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Lynk Labs, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co., a patent case that we have been watching because it attracted four amicus briefs. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed an appeal from a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an inter partes review proceeding that certain patent claims are unpatentable in light of prior art. The oral argument focused on “whether the Board erred in determining that . . . a published and later abandoned U.S. patent application . . . can be applied in an IPR as a ‘printed publication’ under 35 U.S.C. § 311(b).” That statutory subsection says that “a petitioner in an inter partes review may request to cancel as unpatentable 1 or more claims of a patent . . . only on the basis of prior art consisting of patents or printed publications.” What the appellant and one amicus brief argued is that a patent application that never issues as a patent is not a patent nor does it qualify as a printed publication when its publication date is after the effective filing date of the patent subject to the inter partes review proceeding. The Federal Circuit, however, in an opinion authored by Judge Prost and joined by Judge Lourie and Judge Stark, affirmed the Board. It found no error in the Board’s unpatentability determinations using, as the relevant date for prior art purposes, the abandoned patent application’s filing date. This is our opinion summary.

This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and two nonprecedential orders. Of the nonprecedential opinions, one is a pro se veterans case and the other is a patent case on appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Both nonprecedential orders dismiss cases. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the orders.