FedCircuitBlog

This morning the Federal Circuit released a precedential opinion in a design patent case appealed from the Eastern District of Arkansas. The Federal Circuit also released six nonprecedential opinions in a patent case appealed from the District of Delaware, two cases appealed from the Court of Federal Claims, a case appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and two cases appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The Federal Circuit also released a summary affirmance under Rule 36. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the summary affirmance.

Late yesterday the Federal Circuit released a precedential order in one of the court’s pending en banc cases instructing a party not to respond to the other party’s argument because it exceeds the scope of the court’s en banc rehearing. The court also released three nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. This morning, the court released three nonprecedential opinions, one in a patent case and two in pro se cases, and a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and precedential order and links to the dismissals.

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

• an article reporting how the Supreme Court recently “rejected a bid to review decisions invalidating a patent owned by a background-check software maker that had argued that an appellate judge’s suspension had hurt its case”;
• a blog post highlighting two Supreme Court petitions the author suggests “provide [an] opportunity to address a longstanding problem with the Federal Circuit’s practice of issuing no-opinion summary affirmances in patent cases”; and 
• an article discussing the Federal Circuit’s decision “to rehear a high-profile decision that revived an artificial intelligence company’s protest over its exclusion from a $376.4 million procurement.” 

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, in turn, the court released five nonprecedential opinions, four in patent cases and one in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The court also released three nonprecedential orders granting summary affirmances under Rule 36 and another nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the summary affirmances and dismissals.

This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions in pro se cases and two summary affirmances pursuant to Federal Circuit Rule 36. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the summary affirmances.

The Federal Circuit today announced that the most recent amendments to the Federal Circuit’s Rules of Practice go into effect today. The court also provided links to updated rules, forms, and guides. Here is the full text of today’s announcement.

This morning the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential opinion in a case appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The court affirmed the PTAB’s decision that certain claims are unpatentable as obvious. Here is the introduction to the opinion.

This week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene 11 panels to consider 63 cases. Of the 63 cases, the court will hear oral argument in 44 cases. The Federal Circuit is providing access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. This month, none of the cases scheduled for oral argument attracted an amicus brief. Here are the scheduled cases.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the Federal Circuit granted en banc rehearing to address a question concerning standing at the Court of Federal Claims to allege a violation of a statute or regulation in connection with a procurement or proposed procurement of a government contract. Additionally, an amicus brief has been filed in a pending en banc patent case raising a question concerning a district court’s responsibility to scrutinize a patentee’s reliance on supposedly comparable licenses. There are no updates regarding pending petitions. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential order that dismissed a case. Here is a link to the dismissal.