Last Month at the Federal Circuit
Last Month at the Federal Circuit

August 2014

Patent App[eals]® includes PDFs of all patent-related Federal Circuit decisions dating back to 2001.  A user can search on keywords, judges, dates of decisions, lower court from which the case was appealed, case name, case number, and whether or not a case was heard en banc.  In addition, if the decision was summarized in Last Month at the Federal Circuit, the Finnegan case summary is included.

Speculative Injury Insufficient for Standing to Challenge AIA’s First-Inventor-to-File Provision
Nos. 13-1511, -1512 (Fed. Cir. July 1, 2014)
[Appealed from M.D. Fla., Judge Merryday]

Where an Infringement Judgment Is Partially Reversed, There Is No “Normal Rule” Permitting District Courts to Reconsider Damages Falling Within the Court’s Mandate

[Appealed from E.D. Tex., Chief Judge Davis]

Claim Scope Limited When Specification Describes Feature as “Essential” and “Universal” to All Embodiments
No. 13-1340 (Fed. Cir. July 7, 2014)
[Appealed from ITC]

AIA Amendments to False-Marking Statute Eliminating Qui Tam Provision Do Not Constitute an Unconstitutional Pardon
No. 13-1180 (Fed. Cir. July 10, 2014)
[Appealed from S.D.N.Y., Judge Stein]

District Court Erred in Denying Stay by Reviewing Board’s Decision to Institute a Covered Business Method Proceeding

[Appealed from E.D. Tex., Judge Gilstrap]

Digital Image Processing Claims Held Patent Ineligible Under § 101

[Appealed from C.D. Cal., Judge Wright]
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Claim Missing Material Limitation That Is Not Apparent on Its Face Cannot Be Asserted Until It Has Been Corrected by the PTO

[Appealed from N.D. Tex., Senior Judge Fish]

Hyatt Applies to § 146 Proceedings and Permits New Evidence of Issues Not Before the Board

[Appealed from D. Mass., Judge Young]

Submitting Stipulated Construction in IDS Constitutes Clear and Unmistakable Disclaimer of Claim Scope

[Appealed from D. Del., Judge Robinson]

Failure to Move for JMOL Under
Rule 50(a) Leads to a Forfeiture of JMOL Under Rule 50(b)


[Appealed from S.D.N.Y., Judge Scheindlin]

TTAB Makes Harmless Error in Its Pronunciation Analysis

[Appealed from TTAB]

There Is No Jurisdiction over an Appeal from a Contempt Order Without Modification or Continuation of the Injunction
No. 13-1357 (Fed. Cir. July 17, 2014)
[Appealed from M.D. Pa., Senior Judge Caputo]

ITC Exceeded Authority by Reviewing ALJ’s Order Denying Motion to Terminate Investigation

[Appealed from ITC]

After PTO’s Cancellation of Claim, No Legal Basis Remains to Enjoin Conduct Based on the Rights Previously Conferred by That Claim as Those Rights Cease to Exist

[Appealed from E.D. Va., Senior Judge Payne]

Abbreviations  
ALJ Administrative Law Judge
ANDA Abbreviated New Drug Application
APA Administrative Procedures Act
APJ Administrative Patent Judge
Board Patent Trial and Appeal Board (formerly the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences)
Commissioner Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks
CIP Continuation-in-Part
DJ Declaratory Judgment
DOE Doctrine of Equivalents
FDA Food and Drug Administration
IDS Information Disclosure Statement
ITC International Trade Commission
JMOL Judgment as a Matter of Law
MPEP Manual of Patent Examining Procedure
NDA New Drug Application
PCT Patent Cooperation Treaty
PTO United States Patent and Trademark Office
SJ Summary Judgment
TTAB Trademark Trial and Appeal Board
Finnegan
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