FedCircuitBlog

• USPTO Says AI Can’t be A Named Inventor – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said that U.S. law bars artificial intelligence from being listed as an inventor.
• Federal Circuit Proposes Guideline Tweaks – The Federal Circuit proposed changes to its Rules of Practice.
• The Federal Circuit Explains when Winning Isn’t Prevailing – Daniel Shulman explains the results in two recent Federal Circuit decisions concerning “prevailing parties.”

Here’s the latest.

This month we highlight three papers exploring research related to the Federal Circuit.

• Eligible Subject Matter at the Patent Office: An Empirical Study of the Influence of Alice on Patent Examiners and Patent Applicants by Professors Jay P. Kesan and Runhua Wang
• Law, Fact, and Patent Validity by Professor Paul R. Gugliuzza
• Year in Review: The Federal Circuit’s 2019 Government Contract Law Decisions by Nathaniel Castellano

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. In Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., the Supreme Court vacated a judgment of the Federal Circuit, holding unanimously that trademark owners do not have to show an infringer’s willfulness as a precondition to a profits award. In an April report, Adjusting to Alice, the USPTO claims that the guidance it provided after the Alice decision decreased the unpredictability of patent examination. On Law.com, Scott Graham suggests that the Federal Circuit could soon reconsider its decision in Arista Networks v. Cisco Systems.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Parties filed new petitions in two cases. Several amici filed amicus briefs in Baley v. United States.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights a Federal Circuit decision related to proposed amended patent claims at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, amicus briefs urging the Supreme Court to undo harm caused by Fresenius, a comment on the increase of Federal Circuit opinions caused by record oral argument cancellations, and a Federal Circuit decision which sheds new light on Section 101 defenses.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a patent case, one precedential opinion in a Vaccine Act case, one precedential opinion in a governments contract case, and one precedential opinion in a Takings Clause case. The court also issued one nonprecedential opinion in a tax case, one nonprecedential opinion in a veterans case, and three nonprecedential orders. Finally, the court issued seven Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions, text of the orders, and a list of the Rule 36 judgments.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights recent calls for the Federal Circuit to hear more cases en banc, a comment on the difficulty of obtaining trademark protection on descriptive marks, and a Federal Circuit decision upholding an import ban on Comcast cable boxes.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one nonprecedential opinion in a Merit Systems Protection Board case, a nonprecedential opinion in a government contracts case, and six Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a list of the Rule 36 judgments.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. There is no news to report on granted cases. Five new petitions, however, were filed. The Supreme Court also denied one petition, Harris v. United States, this week. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one nonprecedential opinion in a patent case. Here is the introduction to the opinion.