Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Case Law
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 by merging the U.S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals with the U.S. 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 U.S. 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in regard to cases involving patents are unique in that they are binding precedent Decisions of this circuit are only superseded by changes in specific law or from decisions rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court.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.
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Recent Decisions From the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Date: September 3, 2026
Docket Number: 26-1063
Justia Opinion Summary: After serving twenty years in the United States Air Force, the claimant sought educational assistance benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay for a flight training course at MidCoast Aviation…
Date: September 2, 2026
Docket Number: 24-1707
Justia Opinion Summary: Netlist, Inc. owned a patent related to computer memory systems, specifically methods for improving the performance and capacity of memory boards using dual in-line memory modules. The patent described memory modules…
Date: August 31, 2026
Docket Number: 24-1284
Justia Opinion Summary: Two U.S. citizens lived in France during the 2015 tax year and sold shares of a French company, earning a profit. They paid income taxes to both France and the United States, including a net investment income tax (NIIT)…
Date: August 31, 2026
Docket Number: 24-1822
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves a dispute over several patents relating to digital communication systems that use non-uniform constellations to increase data transmission capacity compared to traditional, uniform constellations…
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
