FedCircuitBlog

Here is an update on activity in cases pending before panels of the Federal Circuit where the cases have attracted at least one amicus brief. We keep track of these cases in the “Other Cases” section of our blog. Today, with respect to these cases, we highlight one recent opinion, two recent orders, and five new cases. Here are the details.

Last month, the Federal Circuit issued an order denying a petition for a writ of mandamus in In re Motorola Solutions, Inc., a patent case we have been following because it attracted five amicus briefs. In the petition, Motorola Solutions challenged the Patent and Trademark Office’s rescission of a memorandum governing discretionary denial of petitions for inter partes review. Motorola argued the rescission violated the Administrative Procedure Act as well as its due process rights. Judge Linn authored the order denying the petition. This is our summary of the order.

Late yesterday, the Federal Circuit released a nonprecedential order dismissing an appeal. This morning, the court released one precedential order, three nonprecedential opinions, four nonprecedential orders, and an errata. The precedential order comes in a petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to order the Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to vacate an order deinstituting an inter partes review proceeding. Two of the orders deny similar petitions of writs of mandamus. All three nonprecedential opinions come in pro se appeals, two from the Merit Systems Protection Board and one from the Court of Federal Claims. The remaining two orders dismiss appeals. Here are introductions to the opinions and links to the orders and the errata.

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. Today, with respect to these cases, we highlight a new opinion in a patent infringement case, a recent oral argument in a case on appeal from the Merit Systems Protection Board, a new response and reply brief filed in a patent case, and two new patent cases that attracted amicus briefs. Here are the details.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued a precedential opinion in a whistleblower retaliation case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. The court also issued three nonprecedential opinions. The first comes in a veterans case appealed from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The second comes in an employment case appealed from the Merit Systems Protection Board. And the third comes in a patent case appealed from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Notably, Judge Stoll dissented-in-part from the holding in the patent case. The court also issued a nonprecedential order granting a petition for a writ of mandamus, ordering the Eastern District of Texas to require transfer of a patent case. Finally, the court issued two Rule 36 judgments. Here are the introductions to the opinions and order and links to the Rule 36 judgments.

• PTAB Axes 2 Uniloc Patents, Trims Another In Tech Giant Row – The Patent Trial and Appeal Board handed down three decisions invalidating Uniloc patents under the theory that the patent claims were obvious.
• U.S. Supreme Court rebuffs Merck appeal in hepatitis C patent fight with Gilead – The Supreme Court declined to revive a $2.54 billion jury verdict for Merck after the Federal Circuit found that Merck’s patent claims concerning a family of compounds used to treat hepatitis C were overly broad.
• Fed. Circ. Won’t Undo PTAB Rulings On Motorola Patents – On Tuesday, in a trio of unanimous opinions, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decisions that upheld Motorola patents.

This morning the Federal Circuit issued one precedential opinion in a case involving an appeal from the Merit Systems Protection Board. Additionally, the Federal Circuit issued four nonprecedential opinions in patent cases, with three of these cases involving the same parties. Here are the introductions to the opinions.