FedCircuitBlog

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.

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.

Here is a report on recent news and commentary related to the Federal Circuit and its cases. Today’s report highlights:

• an article arguing that, because the Supreme Court’s two-step inquiry for patent-ineligible “abstract ideas” did not define “abstract ideas,” it has had “disastrous consequences”;
• a blog post analyzing how the Federal Circuit’s requirement that “convoyed goods ‘function together with the patented article,’ and not merely be sold along with the infringing product as a matter of convenience, differs from the rule followed in the U.K., France, Japan, and Germany”;
• a report highlighting how a recent Federal Circuit case “reaffirmed a critical principle in patent law: When a claim lists elements separately, the clear implication is that they are distinct elements”; and
• a blog post discussing how an en banc case at the Federal Circuit “presents important questions about statutory interpretation in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.”

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a precedential order sua sponte granting en banc review of an appeal from the Court of Federal Claims. In the order, the Federal Circuit requests new briefing related to the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. This morning, the Federal Circuit released four precedential opinions, one nonprecedential opinion, three nonprecedential orders, and an errata. Of the precedential opinions, one comes in a patent case, one comes in a trademark case, one comes in a government contract case, and the other comes in a veterans case. The lone nonprecedential opinion comes in a pro se appeal. Of the nonprecedential orders, one grants a motion to summarily affirm and the other two dismiss appeals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and orders as well as links to the errata and dismissals.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a precedential order sua sponte granting en banc review of an appeal from a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims. In the order, the Federal Circuit requests new briefing related to the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo on the interpretation of statutory provisions governing actions of the Office of Personnel Management. Notably, Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo overruled Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., which required courts to defer to agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous language in statutes meant for implementation by those agencies. Here is the introduction to the order.