Opinions

Opinions & Orders – November 14, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and two nonprecedential orders. The first opinion dismisses an appeal from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, while the second affirms a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Both orders were dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the dismissals.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – November 13, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released four nonprecedential opinions, three nonprecedential orders, and one Rule 36 judgment. The first two opinions come in appeals of decisions of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The third opinion comes in an appeal from a decision of the Merit Systems Protection Board. The fourth opinion comes in an appeal from a judgment of the Court of Federal Claims. One of the orders denies a petition for a writ of mandamus, one transfers a case, and one is a dismissal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and first two orders, as well as links to the dismissal and Rule 36 judgment.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – November 7, 2024

Yesterday afternoon the Federal Circuit released five nonprecedential orders, which were all dismissals. This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and two nonprecedential orders. The first opinion affirms a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction by the Court of Federal Claims, while the second opinion affirms a judgment of the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The first order transfers a case to the District of Arizona, while the second order is another dismissal. Here are the introductions to the opinions and transfer as well as links to the dismissals.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – November 6, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and three Rule 36 judgments. The first nonprecedential opinion affirms a dismissal for lack of jurisdiction by the Merit Systems Protection Board, while the second dismisses an appeal from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for lack of jurisdiction. Here are the introductions to the opinions and links to the Rule 36 judgments.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – November 4, 2024

This morning the Federal Circuit released two nonprecedential opinions and an erratum. The first nonprecedential opinion comes in a case decided by the Court of Federal Claims involving a challenge to a decision of the Board for Correction of Naval Records. The second nonprecedential opinion comes in a veterans case appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Here are the introductions to the opinions and a link to the erratum.

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Petitions / Supreme Court Activity

Recent Supreme Court Activity

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, the petitioner filed his reply brief in Feliciano v. Department of Transportation, a case originating at the Merit Systems Protection Board. With respect to petitions, two new petitions were filed. One comes in a patent case raising questions related to summary judgment and Rule 36 summary affirmances. The other comes in a pro se case. Finally, one new reply in support of a petition was filed in another patent case raising a question related to the abstract idea exception to patent eligibility. Here are the details.

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Petitions / Supreme Court Activity

Recent Supreme Court Activity

Here is an update on recent activity at the Supreme Court in cases decided by the Federal Circuit. With respect to granted cases, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in Bufkin v. McDonough. With respect to petitions, three new petitions were filed in two patent cases and a veterans case, two new briefs in opposition were filed in patent cases, and one new amicus brief was filed in a veterans case. In addition, the Court denied the petitions in a patent case and a pro se case. Here are the details.

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Argument Recap / Featured / Supreme Court Activity

Argument Recap – Bufkin v. McDonough

Last week, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Bufkin v. McDonough, a veterans case. In it, the Supreme Court is considering whether the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims must “ensure that the benefit-of-the-doubt rule was properly applied during the claims process in order to satisfy 38 U.S.C. § 7261(b)(1),” which directs that court to “take due account” of the application of that rule. This is our argument recap.

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Opinions

Opinions & Orders – October 23, 2024

This morning, the Federal Circuit released one precedential opinion, one nonprecedential opinion, and five nonprecedential orders. The precedential opinion comes in an international trade dispute. The nonprecedential opinion comes in a veterans case. One of the nonprecedential orders grants a motion for summary affirmance, while two of the orders transfer cases. The remaining two orders are dismissals. Here are the introductions to the opinions and orders, plus links to the dismissals.

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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’s report highlights:

  • an article discussing how the “Supreme Court weighed oral arguments” last week “in a case over how a century-old law is applied to decide Department of Veterans Affairs benefits when there is an equal balance of evidence to support or deny a disability claim”;
  • an article that provides “an overview of the current state” of obviousness-type double patenting in light of recent Federal Circuit decisions;
  • an article reporting how “[t]he deadline for comments on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) updated subject matter eligibility guidance” has passed and how the majority of submissions “overwhelmingly call for more detail in the guidance in order to avoid undue restrictions on patentability of critical artificial intelligence (AI) technologies”; and
  • a blog post discussing a recent Federal Circuit decision that addressed the argument that “claim construction is improper at the Rule 12(b)(6) stage.”
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