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Welcome to Federal Circuitry

Federal Circuitry is a data-driven Federal Circuit blog. Our Federal Circuit Statistics empirically analyze quantifiable aspects of the Court. Our En Banc Tracker highlights pending and past petitions. Our Substantive Order Tracker allows you to search less-discussed orders. Check back weekly for Last Week in the Federal Circuit and monthly for our Oral Argument Recap.

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July 30, 2020 - Federal Circuit Insights
Agreeing to Disagree: How Often Do Judges Dissent?
By: Brian R. Matsui, Seth W. Lloyd and Samuel Benjamin Goldstein
The Federal Circuit is known for being a collegial court. So we decided to take a look at how often the judges disagree with one another. To do so, we looked under the hood at the data for our statistics. Since we started tracking
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July 27, 2020 - Patent - 101, Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week in the Federal Circuit (July 20-24): More Challenges To PTAB Authority
By: Seth W. Lloyd and Samuel Benjamin Goldstein
Maybe it was the heat in DC, or maybe it was the reduced caseload in the summer (see here ), but the Federal Circuit issued just 4 opinions last week, 3 precedential and 1 non-precedential. The Court also issued 1 order denying a petition
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July 24, 2020 - Oral Argument Recap
July Oral Argument Recap
By: Samuel Benjamin Goldstein and Brian R. Matsui
We are two weeks out from arguments in the Federal Circuit’s July sitting. As usual during the summer months, the Court heard somewhat fewer cases in July than during a typical sitting. The Court continued its COVID-19-era practice of submitting some cases on the
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July 22, 2020 - Federal Circuit Insights
September Calendar Released: Expect the Submission Trend to Continue
By: Brian R. Matsui and Samuel Benjamin Goldstein
Yesterday, the Federal Circuit released its calendar for its September sitting, setting oral argument for 40 appeals. So if you were waiting for a case to be set for oral argument but didn’t receive a notice, you’ll be waiting a little longer. Not surprisingly,
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July 20, 2020 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week in the Federal Circuit (July 13-17): A Nobel Prize-Worthy Inventorship Dispute
By: Samuel Benjamin Goldstein and Seth W. Lloyd
Last week was a busy week at the Federal Circuit, as is often the case after an argument sitting. It issued 19 decisions total, some in cases from the Court’s July sitting and others in older cases. As usual, we provide last week’s statistics
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July 14, 2020 - Federal Circuit Insights
Who Wins, Who Loses
By: Brian R. Matsui
Since we began tracking cases late last year, we have been thinking about some of the common perceptions we sometimes hear about the Federal Circuit. For example, people sometimes say that patent owners do very well on appeal (although we hear the opposite too).
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July 14, 2020 - Federal Circuit Insights
Supreme Court Review: Sometimes What Is Not Decided Matters More Than What Is
By: Brian R. Matsui and Seth W. Lloyd
Last week, the Supreme Court closed the book on its October 2019 Term, issuing its final opinions after the Fourth of July holiday. For all the notable features of this term—including the Court’s first-ever telephonic arguments, numerous questions from Justice Thomas, and many high
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July 13, 2020 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week in the Federal Circuit (July 6-10): Arthrex Strikes Again
By: Seth W. Lloyd and Brian R. Matsui
Although this was the week of the July argument sitting, that didn’t slow the Court down in issuing decisions with seventeen total. Below we give our usual week’s statistics and case of the week—our highly subjective selection based on whatever case piqued our interest.
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July 06, 2020 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit, Patent - Attorney Fees
Last Week in the Federal Circuit (June 29-July 2): Patent Plaintiff Can’t Escape Past
By: Brian R. Matsui and Seth W. Lloyd
It was a short week in the Federal Circuit with the Fourth of July holiday as the Federal Circuit ramps up for the July argument sitting. All said, there were only 10 decisions by the Court. As usual, we provide last week’s statistics and
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July 06, 2020 - Federal Circuit Insights
Fun with Numbers from the Federal Circuit’s First Three Months of Telephonic Arguments
By: Seth W. Lloyd and Brian R. Matsui
With the start of the Federal Circuit’s July oral arguments, we thought it made sense to look back at the Court’s first three months of telephonic hearings (April, May, and June). What do those sittings show about how the COVID pandemic is affecting the
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