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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.

January 17, 2023 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (January 3 – January 6): Corroboration Station
A new year means new Federal Circuit decisions to analyze. Our case of the week recounts an interesting saga of companies copying each other’s patent applications to provoke an interference. And if that’s not enough to grab your attention, the case provides some insight into the
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November 21, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (November 14-18): No Disclaimer For You!
By: Seth W. Lloyd
Some of you may remember the Federal Circuit’s decision from a few (actually 5!) years ago holding that patent owner statements made in an IPR proceeding may “support a finding of prosecution disclaimer during claim construction.” That decision left unresolved an important question—whether disclaimer statements
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November 10, 2022 - Last Week in the Federal Circuit
Last Week In The Federal Circuit (October 31 – November 4): Keeping It In The (Patent) Family
Claim construction disputes often include arguments based on patents in the same family or materials incorporated by reference. Our case of the week discusses both categories of sources—and illustrates some limits on their use in claim construction. Case of the (recent) week: Finjan LLC v.
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November 02, 2022 - Federal Circuit Insights
When Do Federal Circuit Judges Sit (2022)?
By: Seth W. Lloyd
Now that we’re nearing the end of 2022 (crazy, right?), we thought we’d update our data on when Federal Circuit judges sit. We looked at this in early 2021 ( When Do Federal Circuit Judges Sit? ), and we’ve twice looked at data on how
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October 31, 2022 - Federal Circuit Insights
Will Your Appeal Have Argument Soon? Part II
By: Brian R. Matsui
Now that the Court is open to the public—not just for arguing counsel but for anyone to watch arguments and visit the Court—I thought it was time to take a look at argument timing again. Back in April 2021, I first looked because it
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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 Ph.D.
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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