FedCircuitBlog

• Full Fed. Circ. Won’t Review Motion Sensor Patent Fight – The full Federal Circuit chose not to disturb a panel’s decision to uphold part of a Patent Trial and Appeal Board ruling that struck down several claims of a motion sensor patent.
• Good News/Bad News: Patent Owners and Petitioners Both Make Gains in CAFC Uniloc Decision – Experts analyze the effects of the Federal Circuit’s recent Uniloc 2017 v. Facebook Inc. decision that raised numerous estoppel issues.

Here’s the latest.

• Judge O’Malley Thinks Federal Circuit Could Be Back This Summer – A trio of past and current Federal Circuit judges gave their thoughts on a return to in-person arguments and other pandemic-related adjustments.
• A Resilient Petticoat – In Transtex Inc. v. Laydon Composites Ltd., the Federal Circuit affirmed the findings of the PTAB regarding the obviousness of some claims within a patent covering a strut holding a tractor-trailer skirt in place.
• Federal Circuit Backs Lyft in Ride-Sharing Patent Fight – The Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court’s invalidity finding of RideApp’s patent in its suit against Lyft.

Here’s the latest.

• Patent Appeal Lessons From Fed. Circ. Remote En Banc Args – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sat remotely en banc for only two cases in the past year, both of which have been veterans cases, but their oral arguments can provide insight to all practitioners.
• Novartis Patent on MS Drug Gilenya Evades Supreme Court Scrutiny – The Supreme Court will not explore the debate over whether being in regular competition is enough to challenge a PTAB ruling on a rival’s patent without having been sued for infringement.  
• Fourth Circuit Finds ‘Pretzel Crisps’ Plaintiffs are Not Bound to Federal Circuit Across Appeals from Distinct TTAB Decisions – The Fourth Circuit joins the Seventh and Ninth Circuits in considering the reach of the Lanham Act’s permission to seek review of a TTAB decision at either the CAFC or in federal district court.

Here’s the latest.

• How to Choose the Next Federal Circuit Judge: Stick with Experience – Retired Judge Paul Michel of the Federal Circuit shares his thoughts on a future nominee to the Federal Circuit.
• In “Landmark” Ruling, Court Raises Threshold for Firing Feds – The Federal Circuit ruled that agencies must show cause when putting employees on a performance improvement plan in Santos v. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• Inventors, Tech Are Taking The Brunt Of Alice Axes – Researchers from Stanford Law School published a study on patent eligibility following the Federal Circuit’s decision in Alice.

Here’s the latest.

• Good News for Patentees: Bipartisan NSCAI Invokes National Security in Calling for Legislation to Clarify Patent Eligibility – A recent report released by a bipartisan congressionally-established commission lends powerful support to Section 101 reform initiatives.
• Dish Rejected in Bid to Revive Data Compression Patent Challenge – The Federal Circuit refused to jump-start a patent challenge after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found that the challenge was time-barred.
• Method for Determining Haplotype Phase Found Subject Matter Ineligible – Applying the Alice framework, the Federal Circuit emphasized that a mathematical or scientific algorithm, without more innovation or improvement, is patent ineligible.

Here’s the latest.

According to the U.S. Courts website and as just announced by the Federal Circuit itself, Federal Circuit Judge Evan J. Wallach will take senior status at the end of May, ending a nine-and-a-half year stint on the court. Notably, this will represent the court’s first judicial vacancy in six years, a relatively long span dating back prior to the Trump administration. Judge Wallach’s transition to senior status potentially provides the first of several vacancies for President Biden to fill. The Senate Judiciary Committee, now chaired by Senator Durbin, will likely play an important role in the selection and confirmation of Judge Wallach’s successor. For today, however, we highlight Judge Wallach’s service to the United States both prior to and after his appointment to the Federal Circuit.

• Federal Circuit Backs PTO’s Broad Discretion Over AIA Challenges – In denying a petition for a writ of mandamus directed at the PTAB, the Federal Circuit reaffirmed the discretion of the PTO over institutions of IPRs.
• Albright Rebuked Again by CAFC After Letting Second Transfer Motion Linger – The Federal Circuit granted a second stay in proceedings in In re Tracfone Wireless, Inc. before Judge Alan Albright after having recently granted another stay in a separate case.
• Federal Circuit Will Weigh In On Government Shutdown Wage Case – The government will argue before the Federal Circuit about failing to pay timely wages to government workers during a government shutdown.

Here’s the latest.

• U.S. v. Arthrex: Is Historical Practice of the USPTO Relevant? – One factor that the Supreme Court may consider in determining the appropriate remedy if necessary for the appointment of administrative patent judges is the historical practice of the USPTO.
• Apple Faces Dubious Federal Circuit on Patent Ownership Argument – Judges Chen and Linn of the Federal Circuit seemed to doubt the interpretation of the contract language that Apple is relying on to challenge Omni MedSci’s ownership of the allegedly infringed patents.
• Federal Circuit on TM Licensing: We’re Going to Enforce the Terms – The Federal Circuit held that the Army properly refused Authentic Apparel’s proposal to make certain Army-branded items, including the expansion of a clothing line featuring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Here’s the latest.

• Now Streaming On YouTube: The Federal Circuit – The Federal Circuit will begin livestreaming the audio feed of oral arguments on YouTube starting in March.
• Make It Pithy and Other Lawyer Tips From a Federal Circuit Judge – Judge Raymond Chen of the Federal Circuit spoke on Friday at the 17th Annual Symposium on Emerging Intellectual Property Issues providing his prospective and tips to lawyers in the field.

Here’s the latest.

• Patenting Software-Related Inventions Is Getting Easier – Experts analyze Federal Circuit precedent and USPTO guidance to advance two recommendations for IP practitioners with regard to ensuring patent eligibility of inventions directed to software-related technologies.
• CAFC Reverses In-Part, Vacates In-Part PTAB Patentability Finding for Skin Cancer Detection Device – The Federal Circuit used an obviousness analysis and ruled that the PTAB erred in holding that patent claims directed at a skin cancer detection device were patentable.
• Federal Circuit Affirms District Court Decision Blocking Poultry Chiller Patent Suit Due to Equitable Intervening Rights – For the first time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed the “boundaries of the phrase ‘protection of investments’ in [35 U.S.C.] § 252”, which outlines the effect of reissued patents.

Here’s the latest.