FedCircuitBlog

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

• an article discussing how “President Trump on Friday said a potential U.S. court ruling denying his authority to impose a wide range of global tariffs could have devastating impacts on the US economy”;
• a post on highlighting how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office “has thrown out tens of thousands of applications and registrations for trademarks prepared by a Chinese company that allegedly forged signatures and doled out legal advice despite not having the training to do so”;
• a piece describing how a “memo last week to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board specif[ied] that petitioners for inter partes review must link all limitations to prior art, without relying on expert testimony or ‘general knowledge’”;
• an article covering how “[t]he electronic case filing system used by the federal judiciary has been breached in a sweeping cyber intrusion that is believed to have exposed sensitive court data across multiple U.S. states”; and
• an article examining how “[t]he Trump administration on Friday ordered a comprehensive review of Harvard University’s federally funded research programs, and threatened to take title to or grant licenses from the school’s lucrative portfolio of patents.”

Here is an update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases involve 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 two new opinions, one in a patent infringement case and one in a takings case. We also highlight two recent oral arguments in two patent cases, a new reply brief filed in another patent case, and a new amicus brief in another patent case. 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 discussing how the Federal Circuit “appeared skeptical of U.S. President Donald Trump’s argument that a 1977 law historically used for sanctioning enemies or freezing their assets gave him the power to impose tariffs”;
• a piece highlighting how Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart “addressed rumors that the Trump administration is considering a new fee on the values of patents”;
• an article describing how Acting Director Stewart said the USPTO would no longer waive a statutory requirement that petitions for inter partes review “must specify where each element of the claim is found in the prior art patents or printed publications relied on”;
• a piece covering how the USPTO “is ramping up its internal generative AI tools and is preparing to roll out an AI training portal ‘very soon’ to help the workforce become more comfortable using GenAI”; and
• a blog post suggesting the Federal Circuit “recently expanded its doctrine associated with specification changes in family member patent applications—using minor changes in the specification [to] justify differing claim construction across a patent family.”

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, the court heard oral argument in the en banc case challenging President Trump’s tariffs, and the court denied three petitions for en banc review, two in patent cases and one in a takings case. Notably, in the denial in one of the patent cases, Chief Judge Moore and Judge Stoll issued a concurring opinion and Judges Dyk and Hughes issued a dissenting opinion. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, a new petition was filed in a pro se case involving a former patent examiner. Also, responses were requested in two patent cases both presenting the same question related to the authority of the Patent and Trademark Office to conduct administrative adjudications. Here are the details.

On July 31, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, an en banc case involving challenges to the legality of President Trump’s tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. We have been monitoring this case both because it is being considered en banc and because it attracted numerous amicus briefs. This is our argument recap.

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

• an article discussing how “[t]he Justice Department scrambled on Thursday to defend the legality of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, just one day before he is set to expand his highly contested global trade war with new duties on America’s closest trading partners”;
• a post highlighting how “Acting U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Director Coke Morgan Stewart dismissed most of the 50 petitions for inter partes review addressed in her latest decisions over discretionary denials”;
• a piece describing how the “full Federal Circuit on Friday rejected by an 8-2 vote Groupon Inc.’s request to reconsider its February decision reviving a patent monetization firm’s Delaware infringement suit against the e-commerce site”; and
• a blog post examining how a recent Federal Circuit decision “represents the first significant application of the court’s recent en banc EcoFactor decision to patent damages expert testimony.”

This week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene five panels to consider 29 cases. Of the 29 cases, the court will hear oral argument in 19 cases. The Federal Circuit provides access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. This month, one case scheduled for oral argument attracted an amicus brief. Here’s what you need to know about this case.

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

• an article noting how the Federal Circuit “said on Monday that it would extend its suspension of 98-year-old judge Pauline Newman for another year”;
• a piece discussing how “[t]he Trump administration’s trade policy faces a critical test” this week as the Federal Circuit was “scheduled to hear oral arguments . . . in V.O.S. Selections v. Trump” yesterday;
• a report detailing how “[t]he Trump administration is considering a plan to raise tens of billions of dollars with a new fee that would transform the patent system”;
• an article describing how the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office “on Tuesday ordered administrative patent judges to address all grounds raised in America Invents Act petitions when issuing their final decisions”; and
• a blog post discussing how “18 Republican Senators asked the Trump Administration . . . to fill the vacant position of Chief Innovation and Intellectual Property Negotiator.”

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, two new petitions were filed. One petition addresses a former military member’s entitlement to disability retirement, while the other addresses the Lanham Act’s prohibition on misrepresentations. Here are the details.