FedCircuitBlog

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• a press release noting that the “Senate Judiciary Committee approved the Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act (S. 2220) by a roll call vote of 11-10″;
• an article considering “what the IP community can expect from a second Trump presidency”; and
• an article discussing a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office internal memo that “banned the use of generative artificial intelligence for any purpose last year.”

Today the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case affirming a grant of summary judgment of noninfringement, two nonprecedential orders transferring appeals, and two nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinion and transfers, along with links to the dismissals.

Yesterday the Federal Circuit released an announcement advising the public regarding fake notices of electronic filing and docket activity being sent to attorneys and law firms. Here is the full text of the announcement.

Here is an update on activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, there is no new activity to report. With respect to petitions, two new petitions were filed. One comes in a patent case raising a question under the Administrative Procedure Act relating to inter partes review by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The other petition comes in a pro se case. The Court also received a new brief in opposition in a case concerning appellate procedure, an amicus brief in a patent case, and waivers of the right to respond in two other patent cases. In addition, the Court denied the petitions in three patent cases and one pro se case. Here are the details.

Late yesterday and today the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are links to them.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity in patent cases at the Federal Circuit. Highlights include new petitions in two cases raising the same question related to claim construction. Additionally, the court denied petitions for en banc rehearing in two cases raising questions about eligibility and enablement of prior art. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential order, one nonprecedential opinion, and five nonprecedential orders. The precedential order denies motions to voluntarily dismiss an appeal in a patent case, while the nonprecedential opinion affirms a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The first nonprecedential order grants a motion seeking transfer to the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the second nonprecedential order grants a motion for summary affirmance, and the last three nonprecedential orders were all dismissals. Here are the introductions to the precedential order, opinion, and first two nonprecedential orders, as well as links to the dismissals.

Following the court’s September announcement of proposed amendments to the Federal Circuit Rules of Practice, today the Federal Circuit announced that the court “adopted amendments to Federal Circuit Rules of Practice 21, 27, 30, 32, 35, and 40; Practice Notes to Rules 15, 28, 30, 35 and 40; and Federal Circuit Attorney Discipline Rules Introduction and Rule 5.” As we discussed in September, among other things the court is adding a practice note highlighting how it “prefers that reply briefs respond to the response brief rather than repeating what is in the principal brief” and “favors reply briefs that do not use the full word length when not necessary.” It also is adding a new requirement regarding the table of contents for appendices, requiring the table of contents to identify how the relevant document was designated in the reviewing tribunal (such as the docket or other record number). Here is the full text of today’s announcement with links to, among other things, a summary of the adopted amendments.

On the heels of its recent announcement about the formation of an Intellectual Property Inn of Court located in Charlotte, the Federal Circuit today announced the court “intends to sit in and around Central North Carolina as part of its February 2025 session.” Panels of the court will hear arguments at the University of North Carolina School of Law, Duke University School of Law, and North Carolina Central University School of Law. Here is the full text of today’s announcement.

This morning the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, one nonprecedential opinion, and three nonprecedential orders. The precedential opinion vacates and remands a decision of the Court of Federal Claims in a veterans case. The nonprecedential opinion affirms a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board, which denied a corrective action in an individual right of action appeal. The first order grants a motion seeking transfer to the Western District of Texas. The last two orders were both dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and first order, as well as links to the dismissals.