FedCircuitBlog

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report includes a comment on a petition for en banc rehearing that seeks to prevent the Patent Trial and Appeal Board from effectively overturning jury verdicts, a report on the Federal Circuit’s affirmation of a rejection of an application for a trademark on “Beast Mode Soccer,” and a comment on trends regarding use of the phrase “inequitable conduct” in the Federal Circuit’s decisions.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a case involving the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation and the Klamath River Basin reclamation project. Here is the introduction to the opinion.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. This week six new petitions were filed, along with a response to a petition and a reply in support of a petition. The Court denied one petition. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a patent case, one nonprecedential opinion in a trademark case, one nonprecedential opinion in a Court of Federal Claims case, and six nonprecedential Rule 36 judgements. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a list of the Rule 36 judgments.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Highlights include two new petitions, four new responses, seven amicus briefs, letter briefs regarding supplemental authority, and denials of five petitions.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one nonprecedential opinion in a trademark case, one nonprecedential opinion in a Merit Systems Protection Board case, one nonprecedential erratum, and six nonprecedential Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a list of the Rule 36 judgments.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report includes a Washington Post article on Oracle’s challenge to the Defense Department’s award of a massive cloud-computing contract to Microsoft, a highlight of a recent concurring opinion by two Federal Circuit judges criticizing the court’s recent Arthrex decision, and an amicus brief filed by the Cato Institute related to railroad right-of-way easements.

The Federal Circuit did not issue any new opinions today given that it is Veterans Day, a federal holiday.

An interesting case that was set to be argued this week involved Power Integrations, Inc. and Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. This case presented the question of whether foreign lost profits may be recovered when patent infringement is proven under 35 U.S.C. § 271(a)—that is, for direct patent infringement, which requires that the infringement occur within the United States. This case—involving a rare interlocutory appeal—was one of only two cases set to be argued this month that included an amicus brief. The parties, however, settled the case and the Federal Circuit granted a joint motion to dismiss the appeal. Thus, while this blog post ordinarily would have been a recap of the oral argument, instead we are limited to analyzing the briefing in the case, highlighting the lingering question the case presented and the parties’ arguments on point.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued three precedential opinions in a patent case, an international trade case, and a case affirming the Court of Federal Claims. The court also issued three nonprecedential opinions: two in patent cases and one in another case affirming the Court of Federal Claims. Finally, the court issued five Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a list of the Rule 36 judgments.