FedCircuitBlog

Next week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit, and three cases scheduled to be considered next week attracted amicus briefs. One is Buffington v. McDonough, a veterans case presenting the question of whether the Secretary of Veterans Affairs validly exercised rulemaking authority when promulgating a regulation related to the timing of payment of disability benefits. This is our argument preview.

The Federal Circuit did not release any opinions or orders this morning.

This morning, the Federal Circuit announced another extension of access restrictions to the National Courts Building, this one lasting until May 31, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the text of this morning’s announcement.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released a precedential opinion in a trade case affirming the Court of International Trade’s determination of duty-free treatment of the active ingredient in a medication for the treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus (“HIV”), a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case affirming a dismissal for lack of eligibility, a nonprecedential order unsealing the trade opinion, and an erratum. Here are are the introductions to the opinions, text from the order, and link to the erratum.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. The court received two new petitions for rehearing en banc: one in a patent case raising a question related to the doctrine of equivalents, and one in a pro se case. Here are the details.

The Federal Circuit did not release any opinions or orders this morning.

On Monday, the White House announced that President Biden officially transmitted to the United States Senate the nomination of Tiffany P. Cunningham to become a Circuit Judge of the Federal Circuit. The Senate, in turn, referred the nomination to its Committee on the Judiciary.

The Federal Circuit did not release any opinions or orders this morning.

Update (April 21, 2021 at 3:30 pm):

The Federal Circuit issued a revised announcement changing only the date of Judge Moore’s succession, from May 21 to May 22.

Original Post:

This afternoon the Federal Circuit announced that one month from today, on May 21, 2021, Judge Moore will succeed Judge Prost as the Chief Judge of the Federal Circuit. The court highlighted that Judge Prost will continue to serve the court as an active judge following the conclusion of her term as Chief Judge. Notably, Judge Prost has served as the court’s Chief Judge since May 31, 2014, and so she will step down from her position as Chief Judge ten days short of the full seven-year term allowed by statute. Here is the text of today’s announcement, which includes a link to a more full description of the transition.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a modified precedential order granting a motion to substitute a successor-in-interest in an appeal of an inter partes reexamination of a design patent. Compared to the original order, the modified order differs primarily in that Judge Dyk modified parts of the original order and Judge O’Malley now dissents from the grant of the motion. Here is the introduction to the modified order and the text of Judge O’Malley’s dissent.