FedCircuitBlog

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. The court received a new petition raising questions related to the written description requirement. The court also received a new response to a different petition also raising a question related to the written description requirement. In addition, the court denied a petition for hearing en banc raising a question related to the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction to hear appeals from denials of petitions for inter partes review. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. The court received a new petition raising questions related to the proper interpretation of a forum selection clause and whether it impacts inter partes review. The court also invited a response and received three new amicus briefs in a case that raised a question related to the written description requirement. Finally, the court denied three petitions raising questions relating to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s analysis of the non-obviousness requirement, inter partes review estoppel, and the Federal Circuit’s reversal of a judgment in an inter partes review proceeding based on a teaching away finding. Here are the details.

Here is an update on recent en banc activity at the Federal Circuit in patent cases. The court received two new petitions, one raising a question related to comparable licenses and royalty calculations and another raising a question related to the written description requirement. The court received three more amicus briefs in support of rehearing en banc in a case that raises questions concerning the inducement doctrine’s interaction with the Hatch-Waxman amendments. Finally, the court denied three petitions for rehearing en banc, one raising a question related to writs of mandamus and two raising the same questions related to patent eligibility. 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 Federal Circuit opinion reversing a $1.2 billion dollar jury verdict;
• the use of court-appointed technical advisors by federal district courts in patent cases;
• how the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court’s order prohibiting certain expert testimony related to damages in a patent case; and
• a Federal Circuit opinion in a patent case addressing the construction of a claim preamble.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued six precedential opinions in veterans, government contract, and patent cases. The patent cases address issues of claim construction, damages expert testimony, the written description requirement, and eligibility. The court also issued two nonprecedential opinions in related patent cases. Here are the introductions to the opinions.

On Tiffany Cunningham’s Appointment to the CAFC: An Impeccable Candidate and a Rallying Call for More Diversity in IP – In a post on IPWatchDog, Emer Simic writes about Tiffany Cunningham, whose “confirmation [is] now imminent” and has “reached [a] historic milestone.”

Federal Circuit Resumes In-Person Argument With $1.2 Billion Cancer Drug Case – Scott Graham commented on the oral argument in Juno Therapeutics Inc v. Kite Pharma Inc., in which Chief Judge Moore “pressed [attorneys] repeatedly on whether . . .  [a] patent on a groundbreaking approach to cancer treatment . . . [is] sufficiently described.”

FBI Agent Who Fought VA for GI Bill College Benefits Wins Appeal; Case Could Help Vets Nationwide – In the Chicago Sun Times, Stephanie Zimmermann discusses Rudisill v. McDonough, where Jim Rudisill’s “successful legal battle could result in additional benefits for other long-serving veterans.”

Pentagon Cancels JEDI Cloud Contract After Years of Contentious Litigation – Jared Serbu, deputy editor of FederalNewsNetwork.com, reports that the “bitterly contentious saga over what was once envisioned [as] the largest information technology procurements . . . finally came to an end . . . as Defense officials said they would no longer pursue the [Joint Enterprise Defense infrastructure] JEDI Cloud contract.”

Federal Circuit Judges Signal Support for Facebook Patent Win – On BloombergLaw.com, Perry Cooper reports that judges of the Federal Circuit “appear to agree with Facebook Inc. that [certain] patents . . . are invalid as abstract.”

Fed Circ Probes Validity of Cancer Treatment Patent from $1.2 Bln Win – Blake Brittain reports for Reuters that a panel of judges for the Federal Circuit “grilled [attorneys] on the validity of a cancer treatment patent that netted them nearly $1.2 billion.”

En Banc: When Employees Leave with a Half-Baked Invention – On PatentlyO.com, Dennis Crouch discusses Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. v. International Trade Commission and the case’s pending petition for rehearing en banc.

Federal Circuit Tears Up Road Map for Keeping Patent Cases in Texas – Scott Graham posted an article on Law.com reporting on how the Federal Circuit “ordered [Western District of Texas Judge] Albright to transfer patent actions brought by Ikorongo Technology LLC against Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics.”