FedCircuitBlog

The fourth case scheduled to be argued next week that attracting an amicus brief is Immunex Corp. v. Sandoz Inc. A patent case, it drew interest from Samsung Bioepis and the Association for Accessible Medicines, respectively, concerning the issues of obviousness and double patenting. Both amici argue for reversal of the lower court decision in favor of the appellants, Sandoz Inc., Sandoz International GMBH, and Sandoz GMBH. Here is our argument preview.

Another case that will be argued next week is Caquelin v. United States, which attracted three amicus briefs. The Federal Circuit will be asked to address two questions related to takings law. First, the court will consider whether the Court of Federal Claims erred in holding that a notice of interim trail use (“NITU”) “amounted to a government-authorized physical occupation of the underlying property for purposes of [a] takings analysis.” Second, the court will consider whether the Court of Federal Claims erred in finding a taking under the “multifactor analysis of Arkansas Game [and Fish Comm’n v. United States].” Here is our preview of the arguments that will be presented to the court.

Next week is argument week at the Federal Circuit, and four cases slated to be argued attracted amicus briefs. A patent case, Biogen MA v. EMD Serono, Inc., drew interest from Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals on the issue of invalidity of a patent “for the use of recombinant IFN-β ‘polypeptides’ to treat various diseases.” Here is our argument preview.

One of the four cases being argued next week that attracted an amicus brief is Voip-Pal.com, Inc. v. Twitter, Inc., which focuses on patent eligibility. Specifically, this case raises the question of whether a patent claiming a method for “automatically routing telephone calls and other communications in a multinetwork environment using a physical controller” covers abstract ideas not eligible for patenting. This is our argument preview.

Only one case being argued next week at the Federal Circuit attracted any amicus brief. That said, the case, National Veterans Legal Services Program v. United States, attracted five amicus briefs filed by 51 parties. In a nutshell, the case focuses on the legality of user fees charged by the federal judiciary for access to records via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system. Here is our argument preview.

To recover a trademark infringer’s profit, must a trademark owner prove that the infringer acted willfully? On Tuesday the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., a case in which the Federal Circuit held that willfulness is a prerequisite to disgorgement of profits in trademark cases. Here is our argument preview.

Our third and final argument preview for January’s cases covers American Institute for International Steel, Inc. v. United States, a case that attracted two amicus briefs on each side. In March, 2018, President Trump relied upon Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. § 1862, to impose a 25% tariff on imported steel products. In this case, a panel of the Federal Circuit will address a challenge by importers and users of imported steel products that Section 232 is facially unconstitutional. The appellants, in particular, argue that Section 232 constitutes an improper delegation of legislative authority and violates the principles of separation of powers established by the Constitution. This case will be argued at the Federal Circuit tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow the Federal Circuit will hear oral argument in Sanford Health Plan v. United States, a case presenting the question of whether health insurance companies may recover cost-sharing payments identified in the Affordable Care Act but never funded by Congress. Here is our argument preview.

Next week is argument week, and three cases slated to be argued attracted amicus briefs. The first is Dragon Intellectual Property v. Dish Network LLC, a patent case that drew interest from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on the issue of the district court’s prevailing party determination, a prerequisite for attorney fee awards. Here is our argument preview.

The Supreme Court will hear one hour of oral argument tomorrow in three cases challenging the Federal Circuit’s holding that various health insurance companies cannot obtain damages under the Tucker Act for subsidies that were identified in the Affordable Care Act but that Congress later declined to appropriate. The three cases are Maine Community Health Options v. United States, Moda Health Plan Inc. v. United States, and Land of Lincoln Mutual Health Insurance Company v. United States.