Opinions

Opinions & Orders – June 18, 2025

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, two nonprecedential opinions, one nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal, and one errata. In the precedential opinion, the court dismissed an appeal from the International Trade Commission for lack of jurisdiction. Both of the nonprecedential opinions were appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board following inter partes review proceedings. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissal and errata.

Read More
Opinions

Opinions & Orders – June 17, 2025

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion and nine nonprecedential opinions. The precedential opinion comes in a case appealed from the Court of International Trade in an antidumping case. Of the nonprecedential opinions, five come in patent cases, three come in cases appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and one was appealed from the District of Oregon in a case raising Quiet Title Act and inverse condemnation claims. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

Read More
En Banc Activity / Featured / Petitions

Recent En Banc Activity

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in an en banc government contract case. The Federal Circuit also received two amicus briefs and the government’s reply brief in President Trump’s pending case involving tariffs, in which the en banc court granted an immediate administrative stay of the judgments and permanent injunctions entered by the Court of International Trade. As for petitions, the court received an amicus brief in a case with a petition raising questions related to interpretation of the statute defining the power of the International Trade Commission. The Federal Circuit also denied a petition in a patent case. Here are the details.

Read More
En Banc Activity / Featured / Petitions

Recent En Banc Activity

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the en banc court issued an order granting an immediate administrative stay of judgments and permanent injunctions. As for the two pending en banc cases, the court will hear oral argument next week in one, a government contract case, and the court received an amicus brief in the other, which raises questions related to statutory interpretation and agency deference. As for pending petitions, since our last update the court received five new petitions, three in patent cases, one in a case raising questions related to statutory interpretation, and one in a pro se case. In addition, a response has been filed to a petition in a patent case raising a question related to collateral estoppel. The court also denied two petitions for en banc rehearing in a patent case and a pro se case. Here are the details.

Read More
Featured / News

Recent News on the Federal Circuit

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

  • a blog post suggesting the Federal Circuit “established an important precedent regarding inherent disclosure and implicit claim construction” in a recent opinion issued in an appeal from an inter partes review proceeding;
  • an article describing how the Federal Trade Commission is calling “on Teva, Novartis, Mylan and other drugmakers” to “remove patents from a key federal database that partially insulates their drugs from generic competition”;
  • a report discussing a recent petition for en banc rehearing that argues a Federal Circuit opinion related to the domestic industry requirement for establishing jurisdiction of the International Trade Commission “overlooks the cardinal rule that statutory language must be read in context”; and
  • an article discussing how “[t]welve states . . . urged a federal court to strike down President Donald Trump’s sweeping taxes on imports.”
Read More
En Banc Activity / Featured

Recent En Banc Activity

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the court issued an en banc opinion in a patent case. Additionally, two new en banc petitions were filed. The first raises claim construction questions and the second was filed pro se. The Federal Circuit also invited a response to a petition raising a question related to collateral estoppel, and a new response was filed in opposition to an en banc brief. One amicus brief was also filed with the Federal Circuit. Lastly, the court recently denied five petitions for en banc rehearing. Here are the details.

Read More
Featured / Supreme Court Activity

Recent Activity at the Supreme Court

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted petitions, as we noted last week the Supreme Court recently held held oral argument in one case decided by the Federal Circuit and issued an opinion in another. With respect to pending petitions, the Court granted two petitions, vacated the judgments, and remanded the cases in light of the Court’s holding in a case originally decided by the Merit Systems Protection Board. Also, a new petition was filed in a patent case raising a question related to the ability of a court of appeals to revive a waived argument; a brief in opposition and a reply brief were filed in another patent case raising questions related to patent eligibility and Federal Circuit Rule 36; and a brief in opposition was filed in yet another patent case raising questions concerning so-called skinny labels. Finally, the Court denied two petitions, one raising questions related to ripeness of takings claims and the other raising a question related to the on-sale bar to patentability. Here are the details.

Read More
En Banc Activity / Featured / Petitions

Recent En Banc Activity

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. Since our last update, the court received a petition raising a question related to patent eligibility. The court also issued an invitation for a response to a petition raising a question regarding Article III jurisdiction to adjudicate patent infringement when the relevant patent has already expired. The court has also recently denied two petitions. The first denied petition raised a question concerning whether an abandoned patent application that becomes publicly available only after a challenged patent’s critical date is a printed publication that can form the basis for an inter partes review proceeding. The second denied petition raised questions concerning expert testimony to prove infringement of a means plus function element, claim construction, and the reverse doctrine of equivalents. Here are the details.

Read More
Featured / Petitions / Supreme Court Activity

Recent Activity at the Supreme Court

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court. With respect to granted cases, the respondent’s merits brief was filed in Soto v. United States, a veterans case. While no new petitions were filed, one new reply in support of a petition was filed in Celanese International Corp. v. International Trade Commission, a patent case addressing the on-sale bar. Here are the details.

Read More
Featured / Panel Activity

Update on Important Panel Activity

Here is an update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases involve at least one amicus brief. We keep track of these cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. With respect to these cases, since our last update we highlight five new opinions, four in patent cases and one in a government contract case; two new argument recaps, one in a trademark case and one in a trade case; and three new cases, one a design patent case and two utility patent cases. Here are the details.

Read More