FedCircuitBlog

Federal Circuit Judges Signal Support for Facebook Patent Win – On BloombergLaw.com, Perry Cooper reports that judges of the Federal Circuit “appear to agree with Facebook Inc. that [certain] patents . . . are invalid as abstract.”

Fed Circ Probes Validity of Cancer Treatment Patent from $1.2 Bln Win – Blake Brittain reports for Reuters that a panel of judges for the Federal Circuit “grilled [attorneys] on the validity of a cancer treatment patent that netted them nearly $1.2 billion.”

En Banc: When Employees Leave with a Half-Baked Invention – On PatentlyO.com, Dennis Crouch discusses Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. International Trade Commission and the case’s pending petition for rehearing en banc.

Federal Circuit Tears Up Road Map for Keeping Patent Cases in Texas – Scott Graham posted an article on Law.com reporting on how the Federal Circuit “ordered [Western District of Texas Judge] Albright to transfer patent actions brought by Ikorongo Technology LLC against Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.”

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a nonprecedential opinion affirming a decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board to dismiss a claim based on laches. The court also issued two Rule 36 judgments. Here is the introduction to the opinion and the links to the Rule 36 judgments.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. Last week the Supreme Court completed its October 2020 term, with all cases from the term decided. As for the Court’s October 2021 term, currently the Court has not granted any petitions in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. That said, many petitions are still pending. And, you may recall, the Court previously requested the views of the Solicitor General in American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, a patent case presenting questions related to eligibility. We are still waiting for the government’s brief in that case. And since our last update, one new petition was filed in a patent case, two respondents submitted waivers of right to respond in a patent case and a pro se case, and a petitioner filed a reply brief in a vaccine case. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in a veterans case addressing GI Bill education benefits. The court also issued a nonprecedential order in a patent infringement case granting a petition for a writ of mandamus ordering the Western District of Texas to transfer the case to the Northern District of California. Finally, the court released a Rule 36 judgment. Here are the introductions to the opinion and order and a link to the Rule 36 judgment.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. The court received a new petition raising a question related to indefiniteness. Additionally, the court received a response to a petition concerning the treatment of expert opinions. Lastly, the court denied three petitions raising questions related to the termination of inter partes review proceedings, jurisdiction, and enablement. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case, a nonprecedential opinion in a veterans case, and another nonprecedential opinion affirming a decision by the United States Court of Federal Claims about subject-matter jurisdiction. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

This month we highlight four recent papers related to the Federal Circuit. The first two discuss the interplay between Article III courts and executive agency regulations and decision making, particularly the application of the public rights doctrine and deference within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The third paper discusses the Federal Circuit’s approach to trademark registration. And the fourth discusses the mandate rule—specifically, how differences in the interpretation of the rule stem from a misunderstanding of the rule’s statutory origin. Here are more details on these papers.

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

District Court Thwarts $100 Million Damages Award, Finding Litigation Conduct Exceptional – On IPWatchDog, Gene Quinn writes about a long, drawn-out patent infringement battle that “saw action in front of a jury, at the district court, at the PTAB, at the Federal Circuit, and even . . . the Supreme Court.”

Oracle Files Yet Another JEDI Challenge with the U.S. Supreme Court – Sebastian Moss on DataCenterDynamics.com reports that the “US military appears trapped in an endless conflict with no clear winner.”

Performance-Based Actions: How Much Is Too Much? – In an article on FedSmith.com, Robbie Kunreuther reflects on a decision by the Federal Circuit concerning “unacceptable performance cases and how they should be addressed.”

Here is this month’s update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases involve at least one amicus brief. We keep track of these cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. Today, with respect to these cases we highlight three dispositions, two upcoming oral arguments, and one case with new briefing. Here are the details.