FedCircuitBlog

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a tax case and one nonprecedential order in a patent case. Here is the introduction to the opinion and the text of the order.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Highlights include three new petitions raising questions related to prosecution history estoppel and vitiation and the denial of three petitions raising questions related to the Appointments Clause, definiteness, written description, and enablement. Here are the details.

The Federal Circuit did not issue any opinions this morning.

• USPTO Says AI Can’t be A Named Inventor – The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said that U.S. law bars artificial intelligence from being listed as an inventor.
• Federal Circuit Proposes Guideline Tweaks – The Federal Circuit proposed changes to its Rules of Practice.
• The Federal Circuit Explains when Winning Isn’t Prevailing – Daniel Shulman explains the results in two recent Federal Circuit decisions concerning “prevailing parties.”

Here’s the latest.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one nonprecedential opinion in a patent case. Here is the introduction to the opinion.

This morning the Supreme Court rendered its decision in Maine Community Health Options v. United States, Moda Health Plan Inc. v. United States, and Land of Lincoln Mutual Health Insurance Company v. United States. The Court concluded that the Affordable Care Act established a money-mandating obligation, that Congress did not repeal this obligation, and that, as a result, insurance companies may sue the federal government for damages in the Court of Federal Claims under the Tucker Act. As a result, the Court reversed the Federal Circuit and remanded the cases for further proceedings.

This month we highlight three papers exploring research related to the Federal Circuit.

• Eligible Subject Matter at the Patent Office: An Empirical Study of the Influence of Alice on Patent Examiners and Patent Applicants by Professors Jay P. Kesan and Runhua Wang
• Law, Fact, and Patent Validity by Professor Paul R. Gugliuzza
• Year in Review: The Federal Circuit’s 2019 Government Contract Law Decisions by Nathaniel Castellano

The Federal Circuit announced today that it is proposing a large number of stylistic and substantive amendments to the Federal Circuit Rules of Practice. The court has asked for comments from the public on the proposed amendments. If adopted, the amendments will be effective starting July 1, 2020. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued two opinions: one precedential opinion in a patent case and one nonprecedential opinion in a patent case. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. In Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., the Supreme Court vacated a judgment of the Federal Circuit, holding unanimously that trademark owners do not have to show an infringer’s willfulness as a precondition to a profits award. In an April report, Adjusting to Alice, the USPTO claims that the guidance it provided after the Alice decision decreased the unpredictability of patent examination. On Law.com, Scott Graham suggests that the Federal Circuit could soon reconsider its decision in Arista Networks v. Cisco Systems.