FedCircuitBlog

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. With respect to petitions, six new petitions were filed in two patent cases, a trade case, and three pro se cases. The Court also received waivers of the right to respond in two pro se cases, a brief in opposition in a veterans case, two replies in support of petitions in a patent case and a veterans case, and an amicus brief in a patent case. In addition, the Court denied petitions in two patent cases and a pro se 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:

• a news alert suggesting decisions by the Supreme Court and Federal Circuit “have called into question the validity of broad antibody patent claims, leading some commentators to declare the death of the antibody genus claim;”
• a blog post indicating the Federal Circuit “issued a notable opinion on federal preemption of state law conversion (theft) claims and correction of inventorship;”
• a report highlighting how the Supreme Court “rejected a case asking the justices to interpret a patent-infringement safe-harbor provision in a federal statute ‘solely for uses reasonably related’ to the process [for] winning government approval of a drug or medical device;” and
• an article reporting how an “import ban on Roku Inc. streaming devices will stand after the U.S. Supreme Court turned away its challenge to the U.S. International Trade Commission’s finding Universal Electronics Inc. met the agency’s domestic-industry requirement with patented software.”

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, earlier this month the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Feliciano v. Department of Transportation, and we have since posted our argument recap. With respect to petitions, two new petitions were filed in a patent case and a pro se case; waivers of the right to respond were filed in two patent cases, a case addressing Rule 36, and two pro se cases; briefs in opposition were filed in two patent cases; replies in support of petitions were filed in a patent case, a case addressing Rule 36, a veterans case, and a case addressing procedure; and six amicus briefs were filed in a case addressing Rule 36. In addition, the Court denied the petition in the case addressing procedure. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit released three nonprecedential opinions and six nonprecedential orders. The first opinion comes in a patent case appealed from a district court. Notably, Judge Bryson concurred in part and dissented in part. The other two opinions come in veterans cases. One of the orders comes in a pro se appeal, while all the other orders dismiss cases. Here are the introductions to the opinions and first order and links to the dismissals.

Today the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions in cases appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board. The court also released three nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissals.

Late yesterday and today the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential orders dismissing appeals. Here are links to them.

Last week, the Federal Circuit heard oral argument in US Synthetic Corp. v. International Trade Commission, a patent case that attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Federal Circuit is reviewing a judgment of the International Trade Commission, which found patent claims invalid for being directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea. Judges Dyk, Chen, and Stoll heard the oral argument. This is our argument recap.

This week is Court Week at the Federal Circuit. The court will convene 12 panels to consider 67 cases. Of the 67 cases, the court will hear oral arguments in 50 cases. The Federal Circuit is providing access to live audio of these arguments via the Federal Circuit’s YouTube channel.  Notably, half of the panels will convene in and around San Francisco. These panels will take place at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law; the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco; Stanford Law School; Santa Clara University School of Law; and the San Francisco and San Jose locations of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The remaining six panels will convene at the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC. This month, three cases scheduled for oral argument attracted amicus briefs. Here’s what you need to know about these three cases.

As we have highlighted this week, three cases scheduled to be argued in October at the Federal Circuit attracted amicus briefs. One of those cases is US Synthetic Corp. v. International Trade Commission. In this case, US Synthetic appeals a judgment of the International Trade Commission, which found patent claims invalid for being directed to a patent-ineligible abstract idea. This is our argument preview.

The Federal Circuit issued its opinion in August in Celanese International Corp. v. International Trade Commission, a patent case that attracted an amicus brief. In this case, the Federal Circuit reviewed a determination by the International Trade Commission that Celanese’s asserted patent claims were invalid under the on-sale bar because Celanese sold products made using a patented process more than one year before the effective filing dates of the asserted patents. In an opinion authored by Judge Reyna and joined by Judges Mayer and Cunningham, the Federal Circuit affirmed the ITC’s judgment. According to the panel, “Celanese fail[ed] to show the [America Invents Act] overturned settled precedent that pre-critical date sales of products made using a secret process preclude the patentability of that process.” This is our opinion summary.