FedCircuitBlog

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the Federal Circuit has invited a response to a petition raising a question related to claim construction and preambles; one new response has been filed to a petition that raises a question related to the presumption of validity and the written description requirement; and three petitions for en banc rehearing have been denied in cases raising questions related to ineligibility, claim construction, and prosecution history estoppel. Here are the details.

Late Friday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released a precedential opinion in a patent case appealed from the District of Utah, two nonprecedential opinions in pro se cases appealed from the Court of Federal Claims, and a nonprecedential opinion in a case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The Federal Circuit also released a nonprecedential order transferring a case to the Ninth Circuit along with four other nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the transfer and dismissals.

The Federal Circuit has been busy. This morning it released two precedential opinions and seven nonprecedential orders. One of the precedential opinions comes in a patent case and reverses in part final written decisions of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The other precedential opinion comes in a veterans case and affirms dismissal of veterans’ petitions for writs of mandamus. The nonprecedential orders do various things in various cases: deny a motion for permission to appeal, dismiss a petition for review, grant a motion to remand a trademark case back to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, grant a motion to transfer a case, dismiss a petition for review as premature, grant a petition by the Director of the Office of Personnel Management for review of a final order of the Merit Systems Protection Board, and grant a motion for summary affirmance. Late yesterday, the Feddral Circuit also released another nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and orders, other than the dismissal, which is only linked.

This morning, the Federal Circuit released three nonprecedential opinions and two nonprecedential orders. All three of the opinions address pro se appeals—two opinions dismiss for lack of jurisdiction and one affirms a final order of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The orders are dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the orders.