FedCircuitBlog

This week, and as it turns out, next Monday, is Court week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene 14 panels to consider 70 cases. Of the 70 cases, the court will hear oral argument in 55. The Federal Circuit provides access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuits YouTube channel. This month, four cases schedules for oral argument attracted amicus briefs. Here’s what you need to know about these four cases.

Early this month, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Arlton v. AeroVironment, Inc., a patent case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Arltons appealed from a summary judgment entered by the Central District of California, which held that AeroVironment could not be held liable for infringement. AeroVironment cross-appealed the district court’s denial of its motion for attorneys’ fees. In an opinion authored by Judge Stark and joined by Judges Prost and Cunningham, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court. This is our summary of the Federal Circuit’s opinion.

As we’ve been reporting, four cases cases being argued at the Federal Circuit in March attracted amicus briefs. One of these cases is Christensen v. United States, a tax case. In it, the United States is appealing a decision by the Court of Federal Claims allowing two American citizens residing in France to claim a foreign tax credit. This is our argument preview.

As we have previously reported, four cases being argued at the Federal Circuit in March attracted amicus briefs. One of these cases is Jacki Easlick, LLC v. AccEncyc US, a design patent case. In it, Jacki Easlick, LLC and JE Corporate, LLC appeal a district court’s denial of a motion for a preliminary injunction. This is our argument preview.

Four cases being argued at the Federal Circuit in March attracted amicus briefs. One of these cases is Titanium, LLC v. Zspec Design LLC, a trademark case. In it, Titanium appeals the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s denial of its petition to cancel Zspec Design’s trademark registration. This is our argument preview.

One of the four cases cases being argued at the Federal Circuit in March that attracted amicus briefs is Bruyea v. United States, a tax case. In it, the United States is appealing a decision by the Court of Federal Claims, which allowed an American citizen residing in Canada to claim a foreign tax credit. This is our argument preview.

The Federal Circuit released its opinion earlier this month in In re United States, a companion case to another case also styled In re United States, decided the same day in a separate opinion. This trade case attracted four amicus briefs. In it, the Federal Circuit considered the International Trade Commission’s appeal from a denial by the Court of International Trade of a motion. In an opinion authored by Judge Dyk and joined by Judges Taranto and Chen, the panel dismissed the case as moot. This is our opinion summary.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, two petitions for en banc rehearing have been filed with the Federal Circuit in patent cases, raising questions related to judicial estoppel, appellate procedure, and obviousness. The Federal Circuit also denied a petition for en banc rehearing in a pro se case. Here are the details.

Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit released its opinion in In re United States, a trade case we have been following because it attracted two amicus briefs. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed a petition by the International Trade Commission for a writ of mandamus to compel the Court of International Trade to retain the confidentiality of questionnaire responses and to permit the Commission to continue its practice of automatically designating questionnaire responses as confidential. In an opinion authored by Judge Dyk and joined by Judges Taranto and Chen, the Federal Circuit affirmed the order of the CIT. This is our summary of the Federal Circuit’s opinion.

Earlier this month, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in Bee v. United States, a case we have been following because it attracted two amicus briefs. In this case, William Bee appeals the denial of his request to have his military records reflect medical retirement rather than voluntary separation. Judges Reyna, Clevenger, and Chen heard the oral argument. This is our argument recap.