FedCircuitBlog

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. In the only pending en banc case, a veterans case, the court received the appellee’s supplemental brief. As for patent cases, the court received a new petition raising a question related to the ability to revise infringement contentions during litigation and denied two petitions raising questions related respectively to vacatur of a preliminary injunction and claim construction. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. The court received a petition raising questions related to claim construction and another petition raising questions related to prosecution laches, and the court also invited a response to the same petition raising questions related to prosecution laches. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential opinion affirming a judgment of the Northern District of Texas of noninfringement of two patents. 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. With respect to granted cases, the Supreme Court heard arguments this week in Arellano v. McDonough, a veterans case. With respect to petitions, two new petitions were filed with the Court in a patent case and a pro se case; the government waived its right to respond to a petition filed in a pro se case; the Court invited the Solicitor General to file briefs expressing the views of the United States in two patent cases related to so-called skinny labelling and eligibility, respectively; a supplemental brief was filed in a patent case raising questions related to patent law’s enablement requirement; a reply brief was submitted in a veterans case addressing the standard of proof governing rejection of disability claims; and, finally, the Court denied more than 20 petitions. Here are the details.

This morning, the Supreme Court denied the petition for certiorari in American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, an important patent eligibility case decided by the Federal Circuit in 2019. In this case, the petitioner requested the Supreme Court grant review to reconsider the appropriate standard for determining patent eligibility and to determine whether eligibility is a question of law or fact. The Solicitor General previously recommended the Court grant review to reconsider the first question presented, addressing the appropriate standard for determining eligibility. But today the Court denied the petition.

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, there is no new activity to report since our last update. With respect to petition cases, six waivers of right to respond were submitted; two briefs in opposition were filed, one in an Equal Access to Justice Act case and one in a patent case; and the Court denied certiorari in three cases, two in patent cases and one in an employment case. Here are the details.

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

• an article highlighting how “[f]ewer than 20% of attorneys arguing in front of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in 2021 were women, according to Bloomberg Law data”;
• a blog post explaining how the Federal Circuit’s high grant rate for mandamus petitions “is driven almost entirely by mandamus petitions in patent infringement cases out of the Eastern and Western Districts of Texas that raise questions about transfer of venue for convenience reasons under 28 U.S.C. § 1404(a)”; and
• another article discussing how a virtual reality company “has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Federal Circuit decision upholding the invalidation of its four gaming patents under Alice, amplifying calls for the high court to clarify the two-part patent eligibility test.”

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 issued its opinion in George v. McDonough. With respect to petition cases, four new petitions were filed with the Court; a waiver of right to respond was filed in a veterans case brought by a pro se petitioner; three amicus brief were filed in another veterans case raising a question about the standard of proof for disability claims; and the Court denied two petitions, one in a patent case and one in a pro se case. Notably, in the patent case the petitioner presented the same two questions presented to the Court in American Axle & Mfg, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in a patent case appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The court also issued a nonprecedential opinion in a veterans case appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Finally, the court issued six Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the Rule 36 judgments.