FedCircuitBlog

Happy Halloween! This morning, the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion. It addresses an appeal from a judgment of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Here is the introduction to the opinion.

This morning, the Federal Circuit announced that Chief Judge Moore will be revealing “a forthcoming new initiative at the court” at this year’s Federal Circuit Bar Association Annual Dinner & Reception. This event is scheduled for Friday, November 17 from 6:30 to 9:30 pm at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC. No details were provided regarding the initiative. Here is the full text of today’s announcement with a link providing more information on the logistics related to the event.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released five nonprecedential orders. One order transfers an appeal to another circuit court of appeals; one order transfers an appeal to a district court; and one order denies a petition for a writ of mandamus. The two remaining orders are dismissals: one dismisses for lack of jurisdiction, and another grants a motion to voluntarily dismiss. Late Friday, the Federal Circuit also released another nonprecedential order that dismissed an appeal. Here are previews of selected orders and links to dismissals.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential orders. One order summarily affirmed a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims; one order denied a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to vacate an order transferring a patent case from the Northern District of Illinois to the Eastern District of Texas; and two orders dismissed appeals. Here is selected text from the summary affirmance and denial of the petition and links to the dismissals.

On Wednesday, November 1, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Vidal v. Elster, a trademark case concerning the First Amendment. The Court granted review to consider whether the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s “refusal to register a mark under Section 1052(c) [of the Lanham Act] violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment when the mark contains criticism of a government official or public figure.” This is our argument preview.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• an article about how the “Federal Circuit . . . backed a pair of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions that said Netflix failed to prove that two streaming patents were invalid”; and
• an article discussing how “Google waived its right to respond to a petition for writ of certiorari . . . filed by the inventors of a method for protecting computers from malware.”

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one nonprecedential opinion and six nonprecedential orders. The opinion addresses a consolidated appeal from two Patent Trial and Appeal Board final written decisions finding all challenged claims unpatentable. The majority affirmed both decisions, but in an opinion dissenting in part and concurring in part Judge Dyk asserted that the Board erred by not properly considering amendments made by the patentee during reexamination. One order transfers a case. The remaining five orders are dismissals. Here is the introduction to the opinion, selected text from the transfer, and links to the dismissals.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next week in Vidal v. Elster, a trademark case. With respect to petitions, one new petition was filed with the Court in a patent case. Additionally, a waiver of right to respond was filed in the same patent case, and a reply brief was filed in support of a petition asking the Court to consider whether the deadline to file a petition to review a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board is jurisdictional. Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion and four nonprecedential orders. The precedential opinion rejects the argument the Patent Trial and Appeal Board failed to address several arguments made in two inter partes review proceedings. The court found no error in the how the Board understood the arguments at issue, but in a dissenting opinion Judge Dyk disagrees with the court. Two of the four orders are dismissals, while the other two transfer cases—one to a circuit court of appeals and another to a district court. Here is the introduction to the precedential opinion, selected text from the transfers, and links to the dismissals.

One case being argued in November at the Federal Circuit attracted an amicus brief. In this case, Boyer v. United States, the Federal Circuit will review a decision by the Court of Federal Claims granting the government’s motion for summary judgment and denying the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. Both motions related to a pay discrimination claim under the Equal Pay Act, and the appeal relates primarily to the plaintiff’s argument that the trial court relied only on salary history to establish an affirmative defense. This is our argument preview.