Federal Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 by merging the US Court of Customs and Patent Appeals with the US Court of Claims and is the only federal appellate court to hear patent appeals. The court sits primarily in Washington, DC. and is different from the other US federal appeals courts in that it hears cases based upon subject matter versus those matters brought in a specific geographic location. The decisions of the court, in particular in regard to cases involving patents are unique in that they are binding precedent Decisions of this circuit are only superseded by changes in specific law or from decisions rendered by the US Supreme Court.
The court has jurisdiction over appeals from:
- Article I Tribunals
- Article III Tribunals
- The Congressional Office of Compliance
More information regarding the history of the court and the judges who have served on it can be found at the Federal Circuit Historical Society.
Browse Opinions From the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
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Recent Decisions From the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-2456
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: 17-2557
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: 18-1410
Date: November 20, 2018
Docket Number: 18-2167
Date: November 19, 2018
Docket Number: 16-2599
Justia Opinion Summary: Seoul's asserted patents are directed to methods of backlighting display panels, particularly LED displays used in televisions, laptop computers, and other electronics. The 209 patent teaches, “uniform illumination is di...
Date: November 19, 2018
Docket Number: 16-2636
Justia Opinion Summary: The Court of Federal Claims held that the government effected a physical taking of a 10-acre peninsula on the island of Culebra in Puerto Rico, when the Fish and Wildlife Service faxed its claim of ownership to a gun mou...
Date: November 16, 2018
Docket Number: 18-1274
Justia Opinion Summary: The patent, entitled “Rinseable splash shield and method of use,” discloses a vessel for containing contents to be mixed that is positioned in a mixing machine and a splash shield that is positioned to shield the opening...
Date: November 16, 2018
Docket Number: 18-1404
Justia Opinion Summary: Ancora’s 941 patent, entitled “Method of Restricting Software Operation Within a License Limitation,” describes and claims methods of limiting a computer’s running of software not authorized for that computer to run. It...
Date: November 15, 2018
Docket Number: 17-2538
Justia Opinion Summary: Kerr was employed by the federal agency since 1980. Following adverse personnel actions, Kerr alleged sex and religious discrimination and retaliation before the agency’s Equal Employment Opportunity office. Kerr subseq...
Date: November 15, 2018
Docket Number: 18-1152
Justia Opinion Summary: Around 1959, the company started doing business as Omaha Steaks. It has multiple trademark registrations that include the words “Omaha Steaks" and spent over $50 million in 2012 and 2013, on domestic advertising of its b...
Date: November 14, 2018
Docket Number: 17-1637
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s asserted RE940 patent, a reissue of its 805 patent, relates to boron steel sheets with an aluminum-based coating that, when hot-stamped, become highly mechanically resistant. In 2010, plaintiff sued AK Steel...
