FedCircuitBlog

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. There are currently no cases pending before the Supreme Court that were previously decided by the Federal Circuit. As for pending petitions, since our last update, five new petitions were filed in three patent cases, a case presenting questions related to copyright and government contract law, and a pro se case; a reply brief in support of a petition was filed in a government contract case; and six amicus briefs were filed in a patent case. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, one petition for rehearing en banc was denied in a patent case raising questions about the written description requirement and appellate procedure. Here are the details.

Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in Netlist, Inc. v. Micron Technology, Inc., a case formerly styled Netlist, Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. This is a patent case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, Netlist appeals a judgment of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in an inter partes review, which resulted in the invalidation of a claim of a Netlist patent. Judges Dyk, Linn, and Chen heard the oral argument. This is our argument recap.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. There are currently no cases pending before the Supreme Court that were previously decided by the Federal Circuit. As for pending petitions, since our last update, three new petitions were filed in two patent cases and a pro se case, and two briefs in opposition were filed in a government contract case and a patent case. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, one new petition for rehearing en banc was filed in a patent case raising questions related to venue and appellate procedure. That’s it. Here are the details.

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

• an article how an inventor “is asking the Supreme Court to take up his case, not to overturn Alice, but to clarify how courts should apply it”;
• an article noting how “Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was among a group of nearly 50 economists” telling the Federal Circuit “that President Donald Trump improperly used a ‘balance-of-payments’ provision to justify a round of global tariffs earlier this year”;
• an article reporting the Merit Systems Protection Board “has finalized rules ending standards it has used since the early 1980s to weigh the appropriateness of a penalty—often firing—in appeals by federal employees of disciplinary actions for alleged misconduct”; and
• an article describing how “[c]ourts are testing the boundaries of” Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo “on federal regulatory authority,” saying it “left open a path for judges to defer to executive branch agencies in certain circumstances.”

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. There are currently no cases pending before the Supreme Court that were previously decided by the Federal Circuit. As for pending petitions, since our last update, two new petitions were filed in a veterans case and a pro se case; three waivers of the right to respond to petitions were filed in pro se cases; and a reply brief in support of a petition was filed in an Indian Tucker Act case. Here are the details.

Here is an update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases have attracted 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 four recent opinions: one addressing injunctive relief, two addressing bilateral tax treaties and their relation to net investment income tax, and one addressing educational benefits for veterans. We also identify two new cases: one raising questions related to injunctive relief, and one raising questions related to the domestic-industry requirement. We highlight two response briefs in cases that raised questions related to inter partes reviews and obviousness; two reply briefs in cases that raise questions related remedies against the United States and copyright law; and one intervenor brief in a case that raises questions related to the ability to appeal denial of institution of inter partes review. Here are the details.

This week (and, as it turns out, next Monday) is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene 10 panels to consider 56 cases. Of these 56 cases, the court will hear oral arguments in 36. The Federal Circuit provides access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. This month, two cases scheduled for oral argument attracted amicus briefs. Here’s what you need to know about these cases.

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

• a report highlighting that the Federal Circuit “is writing more opinions . . . several years after it faced criticism from a group of patent lawyers and academics”;
• an article noting how the Federal Circuit “handed SpaceTime3D, Inc. mixed results in two nonprecedential decisions involving graphical user interface patents challenged by Apple and Google”; and
• a piece explaining how “two dozen states pushed the Federal Circuit . . . to revive their specific claims against now-expired temporary tariffs while simultaneously pushing the panel to otherwise back the U.S. Court of International Trade’s ruling that the tariffs were illegal.”