FedCircuitBlog

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a nonprecedential order in a patent case denying a petition for a writ of mandamus to order the Western District of Texas to stay all deadlines unrelated to venue until the district court rules on a pending motion to dismiss or transfer. Here is text from the order.

• Good News for Patentees: Bipartisan NSCAI Invokes National Security in Calling for Legislation to Clarify Patent Eligibility – A recent report released by a bipartisan congressionally-established commission lends powerful support to Section 101 reform initiatives.
• Dish Rejected in Bid to Revive Data Compression Patent Challenge – The Federal Circuit refused to jump-start a patent challenge after the Patent Trial and Appeal Board found that the challenge was time-barred.
• Method for Determining Haplotype Phase Found Subject Matter Ineligible – Applying the Alice framework, the Federal Circuit emphasized that a mathematical or scientific algorithm, without more innovation or improvement, is patent ineligible.

Here’s the latest.

Yesterday, the Federal Circuit announced that the court’s electronic filing system will be unavailable on Saturday, March 27, 2021, from 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (Eastern). Here is the text from the announcement.

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

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit.

• The Court received four new petitions for writ of certiorari.
• One new amicus brief was filed with the Court in Sandoz Inc. v. Immunex Corp. by The Association for Accessible Medicines and America’s Health Insurance Plans, Inc.
• One new waiver of right to respond was filed with the Court by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in Jones v. Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case affirming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decision to reject four patent applications as failing to meet the operability requirement. Here are the first and last paragraphs of the opinion.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity in patent cases at the Federal Circuit. It has been another quiet week. Highlights include a new petition raising a question related to the definiteness requirement and a denial of a petition raising a question related to claim construction. Here are the details.

According to the U.S. Courts website and as just announced by the Federal Circuit itself, Federal Circuit Judge Evan J. Wallach will take senior status at the end of May, ending a nine-and-a-half year stint on the court. Notably, this will represent the court’s first judicial vacancy in six years, a relatively long span dating back prior to the Trump administration. Judge Wallach’s transition to senior status potentially provides the first of several vacancies for President Biden to fill. The Senate Judiciary Committee, now chaired by Senator Durbin, will likely play an important role in the selection and confirmation of Judge Wallach’s successor. For today, however, we highlight Judge Wallach’s service to the United States both prior to and after his appointment to the Federal Circuit.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a veterans case. Additionally, the court issued three nonprecedential opinions in patent cases. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

• Federal Circuit Backs PTO’s Broad Discretion Over AIA Challenges – In denying a petition for a writ of mandamus directed at the PTAB, the Federal Circuit reaffirmed the discretion of the PTO over institutions of IPRs.
• Albright Rebuked Again by CAFC After Letting Second Transfer Motion Linger – The Federal Circuit granted a second stay in proceedings in In re Tracfone Wireless, Inc. before Judge Alan Albright after having recently granted another stay in a separate case.
• Federal Circuit Will Weigh In On Government Shutdown Wage Case – The government will argue before the Federal Circuit about failing to pay timely wages to government workers during a government shutdown.

Here’s the latest.