2016 Federal Circuit US Court of Appeals Case Law
Opinions 1 - 500 of 840
Date: December 27, 2016
Docket Number: 16-2120
Justia Opinion Summary: Gallegos worked for the FDA, 1980-2000. He was removed for refusal to accept a reassignment that required relocation. Gallegos appealed to the Merit System Protection Board. In 2001, the parties entered into a…
Date: December 22, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1592
Justia Opinion Summary: D’Agostino’s patents disclose methods of effecting secure credit-card purchases by minimizing merchant access to credit card numbers and using a transaction code to complete a purchase instead. At the request of…
Date: December 16, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1489
Justia Opinion Summary: At Appvion’s request, the Department of Commerce initiated a third administrative review of its antidumping duty order covering lightweight thermal paper from Germany. Koehler responded to Commerce’s antidumping…
Date: December 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1950
Justia Opinion Summary: U.S. Water’s patents disclose methods for reducing or preventing fouling (the deposit of insoluble by products on equipment) by the addition of the enzyme phytase during the process of producing ethanol from milled…
Date: December 15, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1024
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a request from ICP, Customs issued a Ruling Letter, classifying ICP’s white sauce as “sauces and preparations therefor” under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) 2103.90.9060. Years…
Date: December 15, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1313
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, the IRS audited the Sandovals’ 2003-2005 tax returns. The Sandovals signed forms waiving their right to a notice of deficiency for the years 2003 and 2004, and consenting to extend the limitations period for…
Date: December 15, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1348
Justia Opinion Summary: Kyocera manufactures solar panels in Mexico and imports them to the U.S. The panels incorporate crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells from Taiwan, which are strung together, sealed, and framed to make solar…
Date: December 15, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1392
Justia Opinion Summary: United sued Tile Tech (TT), claiming infringement of its patent, entitled “Support Pedestal Having an Anchoring Washer for Securing Elevated Surface Tiles.” United served its first discovery requests. TT missed the…
Date: December 13, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2019
Justia Opinion Summary: Medgraph’s patents are directed to a method for improving and facilitating diagnosis and treatment of patients: data relating to “medically important variable[s],” such as blood sugar levels, measured from a patient’s…
Date: December 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1329
Justia Opinion Summary: Power Integrations and Fairchild are direct competitors in the power supply controller chip market. They have engaged in a long-running and multi-fronted patent dispute. Power’s patents claim circuits that “jitter”— or…
Date: December 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1960
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, the Patent and Trademark Office issued JobDiva’s 917 registration for the service mark JOBDIVA for “personnel placement and recruitment” services. In 2005, it issued JobDiva’s 235 registration for a service…
Date: December 9, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1455
Date: December 8, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1372
Date: December 7, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1670
Justia Opinion Summary: NuVasive’s patent generally relates to “[a] system and method for spinal fusion comprising a spinal fusion implant of non-bone construction releasably coupled to an insertion instrument dimensioned to introduce the…
Date: December 7, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3225
Justia Opinion Summary: Wilson was a civilian Resource Analyst at the Nuclear Propulsion Directorate at the Naval Sea Systems Command, which required a Department of Energy security clearance. The DOE revoked Wilson’s security clearance,…
Date: December 6, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1026
Justia Opinion Summary: Asetek’s patents cover systems and methods for cooling the “central processing unit (CPU) or other processing unit of a computer system” using cooling liquid. According to the patents, liquid-cooling systems in prior…
Date: December 6, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1342
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Abbas sued the federal government, alleging taking of his property rights in certain pre-World War II German bonds that were underwritten and payable in the U.S. After the war, Germany was reluctant to pay off…
Date: December 2, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3149
Justia Opinion Summary: Miller worked as the Superintendent of Industries at the Beaumont, Texas Federal Correctional Complex, overseeing a prison factory that produced ballistic helmets primarily for military use. Miller occasionally served…
Date: December 1, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5146
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the FTC announced the “Robocall Challenge,” under 15 U.S.C. 3719(b). The public was invited to create “innovative solutions to block illegal robocalls.” for a $50,000 prize. Contestants granted the FTC…
Date: November 29, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1703
Justia Opinion Summary: Ameranth’s patents disclose computer systems with hardware and software and describe a preferred embodiment of the invention for use in the restaurant industry. The specifications note that “ordering prepared foods has…
Date: November 21, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1812
Justia Opinion Summary: The 752 patent, entitled “Method and System for Managing Location Information for Wireless Communications Devices,” describes a system of “privacy preferences” that determine whether “client applications” are allowed to…
Date: November 18, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1968
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004-2006 Tyco imported 42 models of liquid-filled glass bulbs, commonly used as a temperature-dependent trigger component of fire sprinkler heads. When the sprinkler head is exposed to fire, the bulb is heated and…
Date: November 18, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3173
Justia Opinion Summary: Graviss has worked in education since 1978. In 2008, she became a pre-school special needs teacher at Kingsolver Elementary, part of Fort Knox Schools. Kingsolver’s principal, McClain, issued Graviss a reprimand based…
Date: November 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1580
Justia Opinion Summary: The Alfred E. Mann Foundation owns two patents that cover implantable cochlear stimulators and formed Advanced Bionics to manufacture implants. The patents are directed to an ear implant with telemetry functionality for…
Date: November 17, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1028
Date: November 17, 2016
Docket Number: 16-125
Justia Opinion Summary: MOVA technology can capture an actor’s facial performance for use in motion picture special effects and video games; it is secured by trademarks, copyrights, and patents, and is reflected in hardware, source code, and…
Date: November 16, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1278
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994, Rocky Mountain and the Bureau of Land Management entered into the Helium Contract, giving Rocky Mountain the right, for up to 25 years, to extract helium gas from roughly 21,000 acres of federal lands in…
Date: November 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1810
Justia Opinion Summary: Unwired’s patent, entitled “Subscriber Delivered Location-Based Services,” describes a system and method for providing wireless network subscribers (e.g., cell phone users) with prioritized search results based on the…
Date: November 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2043
Justia Opinion Summary: On inter partes review, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board construed the term “perforated” and invalidated several claims of PST’s patent, finding that those claims were anticipated or would have been obvious over…
Date: November 14, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1296
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, the Church, within five miles of the Illinois–Wisconsin border, began selling caps and shirts, emblazoned with the phrase “ADD A ZERO” as part of a fundraising campaign. The Church obtained two federal…
Date: November 10, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1014
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999-2001, Diversified sold tax avoidance strategies to 192 clients: Option Partnership Strategy and the Financial Derivatives Investment Strategy. Each involved transactions, exercised by an individual client, to…
Date: November 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1672
Justia Opinion Summary: NuVasive’s patent describes and claims implants for spinal fusion surgery. On inter partes review, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board cancelled all but one challenged claim under 35 U.S.C. 103, finding in one prior-art…
Date: November 9, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1494
Date: November 8, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1773
Justia Opinion Summary: REG’s patent is directed to paraffin compositions containing primarily even-carbon-number paraffins and methods of making them. Even-carbon-number paraffins are useful as phase change materials (PCMs), which can be used…
Date: November 8, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1217
Date: November 1, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1180
Justia Opinion Summary: Amdocs's patents concern parts of a system designed to solve an accounting and billing problem faced by network service providers. Each written description describes the same system, which allows providers to account for…
Date: October 20, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1977
Justia Opinion Summary: Bosch sued Cardiocom, alleging infringement of two patents. Cardiocom petitioned for inter partes review of those patents. The petitions were denied because Cardiocom failed to show a reasonable likelihood that any of…
Date: October 20, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2040
Date: October 18, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1003
Justia Opinion Summary: The 141 application relates to methods of treating or preventing influenza by administering the drug zanamivir by oral inhalation. The examiner rejected the pending claims as obvious over Australian Patent No.…
Date: October 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1410
Date: October 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1599
Justia Opinion Summary: Synopsys’s “Gregory Patents” relate to the logic circuit design process. In the early days, a designer was required to prepare a detailed schematic diagram that identified individual hardware components and the…
Date: October 17, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1208
Date: October 14, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1146
Date: October 14, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1200
Justia Opinion Summary: The specification and prosecution history of Poly-America’s patent contain clear and unequivocal statements that the inventor intended to limit the claimed invention to a trash bag with “short seals” at its upper corners…
Date: October 13, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1881
Justia Opinion Summary: Massachusetts Institute of Technology sued Shire Pharmaceuticals, for infringement of patents that are directed to three-dimensional scaffolding for growing cells in vitro to produce organ tissue in vivo. Following the…
Date: October 13, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3126
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Cleaton, a Correctional Officer at the Federal Correctional Complex in Petersburg, Virginia, was indicted in Virginia state court on a felony charge for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. He pled…
Date: October 13, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1046
Date: October 13, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1050
Date: October 11, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1985
Justia Opinion Summary: FairWarning sued Iatric Systems for infringing claims of the 500 patent, which is titled “System and Method of Fraud and Misuse Detection” and discloses ways to detect fraud and misuse by identifying unusual patterns in…
Date: October 11, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1006
Justia Opinion Summary: The U.S. Department of Commerce reconducted a fourth administrative review of the antidumping duty order on certain frozen warm-water shrimp from Vietnam. The Trade Court upheld Commerce’s decision to refuse Grobest’s…
Date: October 11, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1038
Date: October 11, 2016
Docket Number: 16-2223
Date: October 7, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1171
Justia Opinion Summary: Apple alleged infringement of five patents that cover various aspects of the operation of smartphones. The district court granted summary judgment that Samsung’s accused devices infringed the 172 patent; a jury found the…
Date: October 6, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1864
Justia Opinion Summary: Magnesium metal is produced using the “Pidgeon” process, which involves stainless steel reaction vessels called retorts. After approximately 60 days of use in multiple cycles of manufacturing, retorts become unsuitable…
Date: October 4, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3196
Justia Opinion Summary: Purifoy missed two days of work as a housekeeping aid in a Milwaukee VA medical facility without authorization. That week, he sought treatment for substance abuse at the facility where he worked. He was admitted and…
Date: October 3, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5082
Justia Opinion Summary: The power companies allege that they were overcharged for electricity during several months in 2000–2001 and sought to recover the overcharges from the federal government based on sales by the federal Western Area Power…
Date: September 30, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1769
Justia Opinion Summary: IV owns the 050 patent entitled, “Distributed Content Identification System,” directed to methods of screening emails and other data files for unwanted content; the 142 patent, entitled, “Automated Post Office Based Rule…
Date: September 30, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1923
Justia Opinion Summary: Lyda’s patents describe “obtaining real time responses to remote programming” by “allow[ing] persons viewing or listening to a broadcast to respond to the broadcast in real time without requiring a personal computer.” …
Date: September 29, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1892
Justia Opinion Summary: Drone’s patents are directed to systems for remotely controlled machines. Before the invention, conventional remote-control systems included a remote-controlled device (e.g., a model airplane) and a handheld device with…
Date: September 26, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1125
Justia Opinion Summary: Sigma-Tau imported two chemical products, both stabilized forms of the compound carnitine. Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid derivative and an important nutrient in the human body, where it serves to…
Date: September 23, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1605
Date: September 23, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1726
Justia Opinion Summary: Husky’s 536 patent discloses a molding machine having a clamp assembly comprising a stationary platen, a movable platen, tie bars, tie bar locks that couple the tie bars to the movable platen, and clamp actuators that…
Date: September 23, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1845
Justia Opinion Summary: Affinity’s 379 patent contains two independent claims, directed to streaming regional broadcast signals to cellular telephones located outside the region served by the regional broadcaster. The district court held that…
Date: September 23, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2012
Date: September 23, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2080
Justia Opinion Summary: Affinity’s 085 patent, entitled “System and Method to Communicate Targeted Information,” describes a “method for targeted advertising” in which an advertisement is selected for delivery to the user of a portable device…
Date: September 23, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1013
Justia Opinion Summary: Sprint's patents concern voiceover-IP technology for transmitting calls over the internet, instead of through traditional telephone lines. The patents discuss the hand-off between traditional telephone lines (a…
Date: September 22, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1356
Date: September 22, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1853
Justia Opinion Summary: The 695 patent, issued in 2005, discusses technology that identifies incoming telephone calls and alerts the called party to the caller’s identity. The patent purportedly improves on pre-existing systems by introducing…
Date: September 21, 2016
Docket Number: 13-1527
Justia Opinion Summary: WesternGeco’s patents relate to technologies used to search for oil and gas beneath the ocean floor. WesternGeco manufactures the Q-Marine, and performs surveys for oil companies. ION manufactures the DigiFIN, and sells…
Date: September 20, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1662
Justia Opinion Summary: Abbott’s 915 patent discloses a protein, TBP-II, which binds to and neutralizes a protein called Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNFα), which is associated with various immunological diseases. Following a 2008 remand by the…
Date: September 20, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3154
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1987, Fitzgerald began working as an Immigration Inspector with the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department of Justice. From 1988-2000, she served as a Customs Inspector with the Customs Service of…
Date: September 16, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1549
Justia Opinion Summary: LifeNet’s 200 patent claims plasticized soft tissue grafts suitable for transplantation into humans. The patent explains that tissue grafts are typically preserved and provided in a dehydrated state, such as through…
Date: September 16, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1944
Justia Opinion Summary: The 215 patent is directed to improving the efficiency by which messages are sent from a receiver to a sender in a telecommunications system to advise the sender that errors occurred in a particular message. Data is…
Date: September 13, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1080
Justia Opinion Summary: The patents are both titled “Method for Automatically Animating Lip Synchronization and Facial Expression of Animated Characters.” The 278 patent is a continuation of the 576 patent and shares the same written…
Date: September 12, 2016
Docket Number: 13-1668
Justia Opinion Summary: Stryker’s patents concern pulsed lavage devices that deliver pressurized irrigation for medical therapies. In 1993 Stryker applied for the patents and began to market portable, battery powered, handheld devices. Older…
Date: September 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1628
Justia Opinion Summary: Schlumberger hired Rutherford in 2006. She was promoted to Director of Intellectual Property and later to Deputy General Counsel for Intellectual Property. Rutherford managed a copyright lawsuit and evaluated legal…
Date: September 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5118
Justia Opinion Summary: Nutt was hit and killed by a U.S. Army soldier driving an Army truck in 1983. His family filed a claim under 28 U.S.C. 2674, the Federal Tort Claims Act. A 1985 Agreement provided that the government “agrees to purchase…
Date: September 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-7115
Justia Opinion Summary: Aldridge served on active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, 1984-1992, and was denied a disability rating higher than 10% for patellofemoral syndrome on his knees in 2013. The Board of Veterans Appeals informed Aldridge…
Date: September 8, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1597
Justia Opinion Summary: AVC manufactures cooling systems for integrated circuits. Asetek’s patents are directed toward liquid computer cooling systems to cool integrated circuits. Asetek brought infringement lawsuits against other competitors…
Date: September 8, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1957
Justia Opinion Summary: UCB sought a declaration that its Cimzia® brand antibody does not infringe Yeda’s 923 Patent and that the 923 Patent was invalid. Yeda counterclaimed for infringement. The district court granted summary judgment of…
Date: August 30, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1894
Justia Opinion Summary: Veritas’s patent claims systems and methods through which, while certain processes for restoring computer data are in progress, particular data sought by an active application may be given priority for restoration and…
Date: August 26, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5057
Justia Opinion Summary: Liberty’s 325 patent, issued in 2010, is “directed to a projectile structured to be discharged from a firearm and designed to overcome the disadvantages and problems associated with conventional firearm projectiles such…
Date: August 24, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1866
Justia Opinion Summary: OtterBox imports protective cases designed for smartphones. The Customs Department classified the cases as “similar containers” under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) subheading 4202.99.00 with a duty rate of 20%…
Date: August 22, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1792
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Jones, a veteran, filed 16 appeals with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), alleging that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment…
Date: August 19, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1777
Date: August 18, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5100
Justia Opinion Summary: Freddie Mac is a privately-owned, publicly-chartered financial services corporation, 12 U.S.C. 1452, created to provide stability in the secondary residential mortgage market. Piszel began working as the CFO of Freddie…
Date: August 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3200
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1985-1986, Kerrigan was a Navy carpenter. He injured his back and was awarded workers’ compensation benefits by the Office of Workers Compensation (OWCP). In 1993, Kerrigan raised concerns regarding his benefits. Over…
Date: August 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5083
Justia Opinion Summary: Zafer, an Ankara, Turkey, contractor, and the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) entered into a firm-fixed-price contract to construct the MILCON Support Facility at the Bagram Air Force Field in Afghanistan. Zafer was…
Date: August 16, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3102
Justia Opinion Summary: Rosario was an Army Corps of Engineers biologist until his 2010 termination. In 2011, the Merit Systems Protection Board ordered his restoration. His improper removal caused Rosario to suffer depression. He took sick…
Date: August 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1565
Justia Opinion Summary: Scriptpro’s patent is directed to a “collating unit” used with a control center and an automatic dispensing system to store prescription containers after a medication has been dispensed into the containers. After a…
Date: August 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1850
Justia Opinion Summary: The Commerce Department determined that a Vietnamese manufacturer of wind towers was selling its products in the U.S. at about 51.5% below normal value and imposed antidumping duties under 19 U.S.C. 1673. Commerce used…
Date: August 10, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1801
Justia Opinion Summary: EPA and state clean air regulations regulate the percentage of contaminates that may be discharged from oil and gas storage tanks and other holding vessels into the atmosphere. The patents at issue address capturing and…
Date: August 10, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2073
Justia Opinion Summary: Arendi’s patent is directed to coordination between a first computer program displaying a document and a second program for searching an external information source. It allows a user to access and conduct a search using…
Date: August 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1050
Justia Opinion Summary: The 997 patent relates to spinal surgery that “insert[s] an artificial implant between two adjacent vertebrae” from a patient’s side and discloses “instrumentation and methods of performing surgical procedures on the…
Date: August 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1832
Justia Opinion Summary: CSB’s 953 patent, issued in 1997, is directed to a circuit arrangement for integrating an electronic data processing (EDP) system with telephone systems connected to an integrated services digital network (ISDN)…
Date: August 8, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1166
Date: August 5, 2016
Docket Number: 13-1472
Justia Opinion Summary: Halo owns patents directed to surface mount electronic packages containing transformers for mounting on a printed circuit board inside electronic devices. Halo alleged infringement by Pulse. The district court entered…
Date: August 4, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1420
Justia Opinion Summary: Multilayer sued Berry Plastics, alleging infringement of its patent, which relates to multilayered plastic cling wrap films. The district court construed the claims of the patent as not covering (i.e., closed to) blends…
Date: August 1, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1256
Justia Opinion Summary: Wi-LAN’s patents result from advances proposed for the WiMAX wireless network standard. In a typical wireless network, a base station connects directly to the user devices that it serves. The patents to add intermediary…
Date: August 1, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1778
Justia Opinion Summary: Electric Power’s patents describe and claim systems and methods for performing real-time performance monitoring of an electric power grid by collecting data from multiple data sources, analyzing the data, and displaying…
Date: August 1, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1825
Justia Opinion Summary: GPNE’s patents relate to a paging system, using devices capable of both receiving messages and sending messages through a central control station, which can also receive a message from a telephone (e.g., a callback…
Date: August 1, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2094
Justia Opinion Summary: Murata and Daifuku manufacture and maintain automated material handling systems that use robotic vehicles suspended in semiconductor cleanrooms to move and manipulate semiconductor components. Murata sued Daifuku,…
Date: July 28, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1732
Justia Opinion Summary: AGIS, a technology company, software developer, and military contractor, owns the patents at issue, which relate to methods, devices, and systems for establishing a communication network for users of mobile devices, such…
Date: July 26, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1970
Justia Opinion Summary: Illumina’s 794 patent, covering DNA assay optimization techniques, issued in 2011. In 2010-2011, Ariosa provided Illumina, as a prospective investor, with information on its efforts to develop a noninvasive prenatal…
Date: July 25, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1300
Justia Opinion Summary: Magnum’s 413 patent is directed to the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract natural gas and oil from natural shale formations. During fracking, a “wellbore” is drilled; a fluid mixture is injected down the…
Date: July 22, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1725
Justia Opinion Summary: Unwired brought an infringement suit against Apple on several patents. The inventions at issue relate to: extending speech recognition capabilities to mobile devices with limited resources by relying on network-based…
Date: July 20, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1930
Justia Opinion Summary: Polar, a Finnish company based in Finland, owns U.S. patents directed to a method and apparatus for measuring heart rates during physical exercise. Polar sued, alleging infringement directly and indirectly, through the…
Date: July 19, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1038
Justia Opinion Summary: Westerbeke and Kohler manufacture and sell marine generators (gen-sets). The exhaust from prior art gen-sets was vented out of the boat, but the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health found that carbon…
Date: July 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1291
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, the government awarded Laguna a contract for Worldwide Environmental Remediation and Construction (WERC). Under the contract, Laguna received 16 cost-reimbursable task orders to perform work in Iraq, and awarded…
Date: July 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3160
Justia Opinion Summary: Grover worked for many years for the Customs and Border Protection service and participated in the Civil Service Retirement System, 5 U.S.C. 8331–8351. He retired in 2008 and applied for a retirement annuity. By statute,…
Date: July 15, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1325
Justia Opinion Summary: SkyHawke sued Deca for infringement of the 498 patent. Deca requested inter partes reexamination. The court stayed the litigation pending the outcome. The Patent Office granted reexamination, finding substantial new…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5056
Justia Opinion Summary: Crooker, who has a lengthy criminal history, pled guilty to charges of mailing a threatening communication and possession of a toxin without registration. He is serving a sentence of 15 years, having received credit…
Date: July 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5077
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Education contracts with private collection agencies for services related to resolving defaulted student loans through the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), which…
Date: July 11, 2016
Docket Number: 14-1469
Justia Opinion Summary: TMC owns patents relating to bivalirudin, a synthetic peptide anti-coagulant. TMC sells the drug for injection under the Angiomax® brand and, from 1997 to 2006, purchased pharmaceutical batches from BV. In 2005, BV…
Date: July 6, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1900
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Hutchison imported furniture from China through Orient International. The Commerce Department assigned Orient an antidumping duty margin of 216.01%. The Court of International Trade (CIT) entered an injunction…
Date: July 5, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1570
Justia Opinion Summary: Hepatocytes, a type of liver cell, are useful for testing, diagnostic, and treatment purposes. Fresh hepatocytes can only be obtained from liver resections or non-transplantable livers of organ donors; their lifespan is…
Date: July 5, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1308
Justia Opinion Summary: Apotex applied to the FDA, under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, for permission to begin marketing a product allegedly “biosimilar” to Amgen’s FDA-approved Neulasta®. Apotex and Amgen…
Date: June 29, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Internal Revenue Service denied Wells Fargo’s claims for refunds based on interest-netting under 26 U.S.C. 6621(d) between interest on tax underpayments and interest on tax overpayments. Section 6621(d) reads: To the…
Date: June 27, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1763
Justia Opinion Summary: BASCOM’s 606 patent, filed in 1997, describes how some websites contain information deemed unsuitable for some users. Filtering software placed on local computers created logistical problems: possible modification by…
Date: June 24, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1103
Justia Opinion Summary: Georgallis applied to the Patent and Trademark Office to register the mark MAYARI in standard characters for use on wine in International Class 33. Oakville opposed the registration, alleging that Georgallis’s mark would…
Date: June 23, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5111
Date: June 22, 2016
Docket Number: 14-1771
Date: June 22, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3134
Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal Aviation Administration hired De Santis in 2013 and fired him less than one month later, while he was in his probationary period. He appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board under 5 C.F.R. 210.101,…
Date: June 21, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1574
Justia Opinion Summary: In January, 2000, Immersion filed an application (846 patent) with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, disclosing a mechanism for providing haptic feedback to electronic device users. Immersion filed an International…
Date: June 15, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1533
Justia Opinion Summary: Allied’s patent, “Multiple Tool Attachment System,” is directed to heavy machinery construction and demolition tools, such as metal cutting shears, plate shears, concrete crushers, and grapples, that can be attached to a…
Date: June 14, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1720
Justia Opinion Summary: Pompe’s disease is a genetic condition associated with a deficiency or absence of the lysosomal enzyme acid α-glucosidase (GAA), which breaks down glycogen, a larger molecule, into glucose. In a person with Pompe’s…
Date: June 10, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1346
Justia Opinion Summary: ComplementSoft’s patent, issued in 2006, is directed to an “Integrated Development Environment for generating and maintaining source code . . . in particular, programmed in data manipulation languages,” and …
Date: June 10, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5114
Justia Opinion Summary: From 1997-2001, Nacchio served as Qwest's CEO. Based on 2001 stock trades, Nacchio reported a net gain of $44,632,464.38 on his return and paid $17,974,832 in taxes. In 2007, Nacchio was convicted of 19 counts of insider…
Date: June 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5126
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, employed by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, (CBP) as Supply Chain Security Specialists in its Customs-Trade Protection Against Terrorism program, travelled and worked at foreign posts designated by…
Date: June 7, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3234
Justia Opinion Summary: Rainey, a State Department Supervisory Foreign Affairs Officer, was with the Africa Contingency Operations program when his supervisor relieved him of his duties as contracting officer representative. Rainey complained…
Date: June 6, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1129
Justia Opinion Summary: Indacon’s patent is directed to a system and method for searching, indexing, perusing, and manipulating files in a database, particularly through the insertion of automatically generated hyperlinks. Following the…
Date: June 3, 2016
Docket Number: 13-1576
Justia Opinion Summary: Warsaw’s 973 patent claims oversized spinal implants; its 933 patent claims methods and devices for retracting tissue to create a working channel for minimally invasive spinal surgery. NuVasive’s patent relates to…
Date: June 2, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1594
Justia Opinion Summary: Superior’s “Unloader Patents” are directed to a truck unloader system with a drive-over ramp system and a conveyor system to transport deposited material from a truck to a hopper. Its Support Strut Patents are directed…
Date: May 31, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1425
Justia Opinion Summary: MSV’s “Terry patents” are a line of continuations beginning with the 895 patent; they concern techniques for providing access to a local area network (LAN) from a relatively distant computer. When two computers on the…
Date: May 27, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2086
Justia Opinion Summary: Netzer owns the 496 patent, entitled “Process for the Coproduction of Benzene from Refinery Sources and Ethylene by Steam Cracking,” which describes a process for the coproduction of ethylene and purified benzene from…
Date: May 27, 2016
Docket Number: 16-1560
Justia Opinion Summary: Dr. Arunachalam owns the 178 patent, which has been undergoing reexamination since November 2008. In 2014, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board affirmed the rejection of claims 9– 16, but designated a new ground of…
Date: May 26, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1016
Justia Opinion Summary: Profectus’s patent discloses a mountable digital picture frame for displaying still digital images. The specification discusses how a user can display digital images on a wall or desktop similar to conventional…
Date: May 25, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1177
Justia Opinion Summary: Aqua’s patent concerns automated swimming pool cleaners. Using motor-driven wheels that enable the cleaner to move in a controlled pattern requires a drive motor and integrated circuitry. Cleaners that use suction or…
Date: May 24, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5074
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded Northrop an order for network monitoring software produced by Oakley for one base year and three option years. A subsequent modification required ICE to use best…
Date: May 20, 2016
Docket Number: 15-5109
Justia Opinion Summary: A.M. was born in1993, and was raised in a predominately Polish-speaking household. At A.M.’s 15-month routine examination, the pediatrician noted that A.M. was a “well child.” When A.M. was two years old, his…
Date: May 18, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1148
Justia Opinion Summary: KBR, an Army contractor, subcontracted with KCPC/Morris to implement work release orders for construction of dining facilities and provision of food services in Iraq. KBR terminated the subcontract based on performance. …
Date: May 18, 2016
Docket Number: 15-7030
Justia Opinion Summary: Hudgens injured his right knee while serving on active duty in the U.S. Army. In 2003, Hudgens had partial knee replacement surgery; in 2006, he sought VA benefits. The Board of Veterans’ Appeals denied him a disability…
Date: May 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1372
Justia Opinion Summary: TLI filed suits, alleging that the defendants infringed its 295 patent by making, selling, and/or using products and services that allow uploading of digital photos from a mobile device, such as a cell phone. The 295…
Date: May 17, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1844
Justia Opinion Summary: Diamond sued the auto companies, alleging infringement of its patents. The district court dismissed the actions finding that agreements between Diamond and Sanyo, the original assignee of the patents-in-suit, did not…
Date: May 16, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1902
Justia Opinion Summary: Finacea® Gel contains azelaic acid as the therapeutically active ingredient in a concentration of 15% by weight and is indicated for the topical treatment of rosacea. Finacea® is manufactured as a “hydrogel,” which the…
Date: May 13, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1432
Justia Opinion Summary: Cordua owns and operates five restaurants branded as “Churrascos,” the first of which opened in 1988. The restaurants serve South American dishes, including grilled meats; the menu describes chargrilled “Churrasco Steak”…
Date: May 13, 2016
Docket Number: 15-2063
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Merck and Weider considered jointly introducing, into the U.S., dietary supplements with Merck ingredients, including crystalline calcium salt of a tetrahydrofolic acid (MTHF), agreeing that, until a definitive…
Date: May 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1232
Justia Opinion Summary: Stryker’s 243 patent concerns a socket assembly used in prosthetic hip implants. The patent addresses three major components involved: a shell member and a bearing member, which together replace the socket (technically…
Date: May 12, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1244
Justia Opinion Summary: Enfish’s 604 and 775 patents are directed to an innovative logical model for a computer database. A logical model is a model of data for a computer database explaining how the various elements of information are related…
Date: May 11, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3140
Justia Opinion Summary: Lal was appointed as a distinguished consultant at the Centers for Disease Control, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services, in the excepted service under 42 U.S.C. 209(f), which provides that…
Date: May 10, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3152
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2003-2008, Cahill did information-technology work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an independent contractor. In 2011, the agency hired him as an employee, “to support Data Management…
Date: May 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1693
Justia Opinion Summary: Illumina’s patent is directed to a method of labeling nucleotides in a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand. At the request of IBS, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board instituted inter partes review of claims 1–6 and 8 of…
Date: May 9, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1933
Date: May 6, 2016
Docket Number: 15-1830
Justia Opinion Summary: The Navy's Diego Garcia facility, a 10.5-square-acre Indian Ocean atoll, 1,800 miles east of Africa and 1,200 miles south of India, had no commercial or civilian infrastructure. In 2005, the Navy sought bids on a firm…
Date: May 6, 2016
Docket Number: 15-3144
Justia Opinion Summary: Nguyen, a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Supervisory Examiner, received a Notice of Proposed Reduction in Grade to Patent Examiner, alleging that she had violated rules prohibiting nepotism in attempting to prevent her…
