FedCircuitBlog

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in an appeal from an arbitrator’s decision in an employment case, one nonprecedential opinion in a patent case, and one nonprecedential order granting a petition for a writ of mandamus. Here are the introductions to the opinions and the text from the order.

Guest post by Saurabh Vishnubhakat

As the Transitional Program for Covered Business Method (“CBM”) Review reaches its sunset date, it is useful to consider the design and implementation of this program and what lessons can be drawn from its eight-year run. Of particular interest are two unusual aspects of CBM review that have interacted with each other in instructive ways.

• Federal Circuit’s O’Malley: Supreme Court doesn’t have stomach for another 101 case – Federal Circuit Judge Kathleen O’Malley recently expressed concern over whether the Supreme Court will address patentable subject matter.
• An Argument for Mandatory Production of Limited Secondary Consideration Evidence by Petitioners in Inter Partes Reviews – Kristin Doyle advocates for the Patent Trial and Appeals Board to adopt the same approach to secondary consideration evidence as the Federal Circuit
• What We Learned About Biologics on Summer Vacation – Broad claim construction, licensing, and antitrust concerns have been among the trends for cases involving biologics at the Federal Circuit.

Here’s the latest.

In this article, we highlight two scholarly articles related to the Federal Circuit.

• Eli Lilly v. Teva: Generic Companies Infringe under Akamai IV in Case of Divided Infringement by Christopher M. Holman
• Design Patent Law’s Identity Crisis by Peter S. Menell and Ella Corren

Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a pair of Rule 36 judgments. Here is a list with links to the orders.

On Friday the Federal Circuit and the Court of Federal Claims issued a joint order extending until October 19, 2020 the limitations on access to the Federal Courts Building set on June 26, 2020. The Federal Circuit also issued a notice with additional information related to the order. Here is the text from the court’s notice.

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 patent cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. Today, with respect to these cases we highlight two dispositions, three new cases that attracted amicus briefs, two recent oral arguments, and one upcoming oral argument.

As we previously reported, last week in Facebook, Inc. v. Windy City Innovations, LLC the Federal Circuit granted panel rehearing, issued a modified panel opinion, and denied en banc rehearing. Facebook sought rehearing to challenge the panel’s decisions concerning joinder in inter partes review proceedings, as well as the broader question of whether the Federal Circuit owes deference to interpretations of statutory provisions made by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Precedential Opinions Panel. Here we summarize the modified panel opinion.

This morning, the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in a veterans case and a nonprecedential opinion in a patent case. The court also issued three Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a list of the Rule 36 judgments.

• ITC Ruling Offers Chance For Infringer Reprieve From Import Bans – For the first time, the U.S. International Trade Commission has suspended enforcement of a remedial order based on an earlier decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.
• Racing Tribunals: The Judge, the Jury, and the PTAB – Later this fall, the U.S. Supreme Court will rule on the petition Personal Audio, LLC v. CBS Corporation. Dennis Crouch explores how this case adds an important third tribunal to the patent story.

Here’s the latest.