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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.

Follow us on Twitter @Fed_Circuitry and check out our sister blog, Left Coast Appeals, to keep tabs on the Ninth Circuit.

October 28, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 17 – October 21): Mapping The Section 101 Landscape
As we’ve noted , the Supreme Court is once again considering whether to take up patent eligibility: it recently CVSGed two more Section 101 cases. While we wait for the government’s views, the Federal Circuit will continue resolving Section 101 disputes, likely including some close cases resulting in
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October 18, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 10 – October 14): Intrigue, Espionage, Judicial Review, and Administrative Law
By: Brian R. Matsui
The Supreme Court term has started, and the Court once again seems to be dipping its toes in the water with more CVSGs in 101 cases. Maybe this time the Court will take the plunge. For our case of the week—our highly subjective selection based on
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October 12, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 3 – October 7): Genus/Species Meets Inherent Anticipation
By: Seth W. Lloyd
Unlike obviousness, the test for anticipation in patent law is generally pretty simple—does the prior art disclose the same thing as the challenged patent claims. But as our latest case of the week shows, that simple test can sometimes involve subtle, and more complicated, issues.
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October 10, 2022 - Federal Circuit Insights
Another Term, Another Section 101 CVSG
Last week marked the start of the Supreme Court’s October 2022 Term. That meant another “long conference” order list acting on most of the petitions that had accumulated over the summer. The Court did not grant any new cases from the Federal Circuit. But it called for
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October 05, 2022 - Federal Circuit Insights
Sawing Through Patent Term—the Federal Circuit’s Recent Decision In Sawstop
By: Mehran Arjomand and Meghan McLean Poon
Patent Term Adjustment (PTA) is additional patent term for U.S. patents to compensate for delay in issuance. The statute (35 U.S.C. § 154(b)) provides three bases for PTA: delayed response by the USPTO (“A delay”), failure to issue a patent within three years (“B delay”),
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September 15, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (September 6 – September 9): Repeating Litigation, Again
By: Seth W. Lloyd
Usually in American courts, parties get one chance to litigate a single legal claim. Courts enforce that principle in a variety of ways – at the back end, through rules like claim and issue preclusion; and at the front end, through rules like the duplicative-litigation
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September 13, 2022 - Federal Circuit Insights
How Often Do Federal Circuit Judges Sit 2022?
By: Seth W. Lloyd
Early last year we took a look at how often Federal Circuit judges sit (see blog post ). A lot has happened since then, including two new judges joining the court. Below is an updated chart showing data through the August 2022 sitting: As a reminder,
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September 08, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (August 29 – September 2): Capability Claims in the Modern Era
Have you ever wondered what it means when your smartphone or tablet connects to an “LTE” network? Our case of the week dives into that technology—and offers an interesting discussion of functional claim limitations and standard-essential patents. Case of the week: INVT SPE LLC v.
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September 06, 2022 - Federal Circuit Insights
Is It Ever Too Late To Be Rule 36’d?
By: Brian R. Matsui
Those that regularly practice before the Court know about Rule 36s. We’ve written about them before. It’s a one-line per curiam decision that generally comes a few days after oral argument: AFFIRMED. See Fed. Cir. R. 36. This post isn’t going to say anything about the
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August 30, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (August 22 – August 26): To Appeal Or Not To Appeal, That Is The Question
By: Seth W. Lloyd
If you don’t appeal an issue from an adverse judgment, are you going to be bound by the decision on that issue in future cases? This can often be an important question to consider when deciding whether and what issues to appeal. But sometimes, the chance
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Welcome to Federal Circuitry

Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 17 – October 21): Mapping The Section 101 Landscape

Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 10 – October 14): Intrigue, Espionage, Judicial Review, and Administrative Law

By: Brian R. Matsui

Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 3 – October 7): Genus/Species Meets Inherent Anticipation

By: Seth W. Lloyd

Another Term, Another Section 101 CVSG

Sawing Through Patent Term—the Federal Circuit’s Recent Decision In Sawstop

By: Mehran Arjomand and Meghan McLean Poon

Last Week In The Federal Circuit (September 6 – September 9): Repeating Litigation, Again

By: Seth W. Lloyd

How Often Do Federal Circuit Judges Sit 2022?

By: Seth W. Lloyd

Last Week In The Federal Circuit (August 29 – September 2): Capability Claims in the Modern Era

Is It Ever Too Late To Be Rule 36’d?

By: Brian R. Matsui

Last Week In The Federal Circuit (August 22 – August 26): To Appeal Or Not To Appeal, That Is The Question

By: Seth W. Lloyd