FedCircuitBlog

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, the court has set a date for oral argument in the only pending en banc case, which relates to the President’s Article II removal powers. Also, a new response was filed in response to a petition that raises questions about the written description requirement, and the court denied three petitions that raised questions regarding appellate procedure, claim construction, means-plus-function treatment, and damages. Here are the details.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released five precedential opinions, three nonprecedential opinions, and one nonprecedential order. Two of the precedential opinions come in tax cases appealed from the Court of Federal Claims and address whether bilateral tax treaties relieve U.S. taxpayers from double taxation with respect to the net investment income tax. Two other precedential opinions come in patent cases, one appealed from the Eastern District of Texas and the other from the District of Delaware. The fifth precedential opinion comes in an appeal from a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. As for the nonprecedential opinions, two come in related patent cases appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board involving the same parties, and the third comes in another patent case appealed from the Eastern District of Texas. The order dismisses an appeal from the Court of Federal Claims. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the order.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit. Since our last update, fourteen amicus briefs were filed in the only pending en banc case, which relates to the President’s Article II removal power. Also, two new response briefs were filed in response to petitions in patent cases raising questions related to damages, the written description requirement, and the enablement requirement. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, two new petitions for en banc rehearing have been filed raising questions related to damages and the Administrative Procedure Act. One new response was filed in a case raising a question related to appellate procedure. One new amicus brief was filed in a case raising questions related to enablement and written description. Finally, one petition was denied in a case raising a question related to inventorship. Here are the details.

Recently the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in Constellation Designs, LLC v. LG Electronics Inc., a patent case we have been following because it attracted an amicus brief. In this case, LG Electronics appealed a judgment of the Eastern District of Texas, which granted summary judgment of eligibility and denied judgment as a matter of law of noninfringement. In an opinion authored by Judge Stoll and joined by Judges Lourie and Oetken, a district judge from New York sitting by designation, the panel vacated-in-part, affirmed-in-part, and remanded the district court’s judgment. This is our summary of the opinion.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today we highlight:

• a blog post reporting how the New Civil Liberties Alliance filed a reply brief at the Supreme Court on behalf of Judge Newman;
• a blog post highlighting how “a unanimous court rejected the idea that a generics pharmaceutical manufacturer . . . can be held responsible for infringements of patents held by the branded manufacturer . . . based on the decisions of doctors and pharmacies to use the generic compound for patented uses of the drug”;
• a blog post explaining how, when “[c]onfronted with four patents drawn to the same basic invention, the Federal Circuit held one group of claims ineligible and a second group eligible”; and
• a blog post discussing how “more than a dozen patent matters now sit before the [Supreme] Court.”

Here is an update on activity in patent cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases have attracted 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 two recent opinions and one recent order, four newly identified cases, and two recent oral arguments. Here are the details.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released a precedential opinion in a patent case, a nonprecedential opinion in a veterans case, and two additional nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissals.

This week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene 12 panels to consider 71 cases. Of the 71 cases, the court will hear oral argument in 46. The Federal Circuit provides access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel. This month, three cases scheduled for oral argument attracted amicus briefs. Here’s what you need to know about these three cases.

Three cases being argued at the Federal Circuit in December attracted amicus briefs. One of these cases is Constellation Designs, LLC v. LG Electronics Inc., a patent case. In it, LG Electronics Inc., LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc., and LG Electronics Alabama, Inc. appeal a district court’s grant of summary judgment of eligibility and its order denying judgment as a matter of law of noninfringement and no damages.