Court Week / Opinions

Opinion Summary – Freund v. McDonough

Late last month the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Freund v. McDonough, a veterans case that attracted two amicus briefs. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed whether the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims erred in dismissing the case as moot and denying Freund’s request for class certification. In an opinion authored by Judge Dyk that was joined by Judges Hughes and Stoll, the Federal Circuit vacated the judgment and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The Federal Circuit held that the case was not moot as to the class claims because it “satisfie[d] the inherently transitory standard” and that the lower court “abused its discretion in finding that the adequacy and commonality requirements for class certifications were not met.” This is our opinion summary

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 11, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, five nonprecedential orders, and one Rule 36 judgment. The precedential opinion comes in a government contract dispute and vacates a judgment and an injunction, affirms a sanctions order, and remands for further proceedings. Three of the nonprecedential orders deny petitions seeking orders to transfer or not transfer cases, while one remands an appeal with instructions that a district court consider a motion to vacate and the last order was a dismissal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and orders as well as links to the dismissal and Rule 36 judgment.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 10, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released five nonprecedential opinions and one Rule 36 judgment. The first opinion affirms a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The second and third opinions affirm dismissals by the Court of Federal Claims. The last two opinions affirm decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the Rule 36 judgment.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 9, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, two nonprecedential opinions, and one Rule 36 judgment. The precedential opinion reverses a grant of summary judgment in a patent infringement case and remands the case for further proceedings. The first nonprecedential opinion dismisses an appeal of a decision from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, while the second nonprecedential opinion affirms a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the Rule 36 judgment.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 6, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, two nonprecedential opinions, and three Rule 36 judgments. The precedential opinion vacates a judgment of non-infringement, reverses an exclusion of testimony, and remands a patent case for further proceedings. The first nonprecedential opinion affirms a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims in a case in which a veteran requested a retroactive promotion. The second nonprecedential opinion dismisses an appeal from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the Rule 36 judgments.

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Opinions / Panel Activity

Opinion Summary – Bureau National Interprofessionnel Du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment

In early August the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Bureau National Interprofessionnel Du Cognac v. Cologne & Cognac Entertainment, a trademark case that attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed a judgment of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. As explained by the appellants, “[i]n a two-to-one split decision, the Board held registrable a mark prominently incorporating without permission the certification mark COGNAC, holding that the mark . . . , if used for hip-hop music and production services, was not likely to cause confusion or dilution.” The Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the judgment in an opinion authored by Judge Lourie that was joined by Judges Clevenger and Hughes. This is our opinion summary.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 5, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released three nonprecedential opinions, one nonprecedential order, and four Rule 36 judgments. The first nonprecedential opinion dismisses an appeal from an order of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The second and third nonprecedential opinions affirm decisions of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The nonprecedential order is a dismissal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the Rule 36 judgments and order.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 4, 2024

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order voluntarily dismissing an appeal. This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, one nonprecedential opinion, one nonprecedential order, and one Rule 36 judgment. The precedential opinion affirms a district court’s judgment with respect to validity and infringement in a patent case; the nonprecedential opinion affirms a final written decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board invalidating all claims of a patent; and today’s order also dismisses an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissals and Rule 36 judgment.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 3, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion and one nonprecedential opinion. The precedential opinion affirms a summary judgment of invalidity in a patent infringement suit. The nonprecedential opinion affirms the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s dismissal of an opposition. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – September 2, 2024

The Federal Circuit did not release any opinions or orders on its website given the Labor Day holiday. Late in the day on Friday, however, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing a case as moot. Here is a link to the dismissal.

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