Justia U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals Opinion Summaries

Enviro Tech Chemical Services, Inc. held a patent covering methods for treating poultry during processing, specifically by using peracetic acid to increase the weight of the poultry. The method involved several steps, including adjusting the pH of peracetic acid-containing water to a range described as “about 7.6 to about 10” by adding an alkaline source. Enviro Tech alleged that Safe Foods Corp. infringed upon various claims of this patent.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas reviewed the case and conducted claim construction. Safe Foods argued that the terms “about” and “an antimicrobial amount” in the patent were indefinite. The district court agreed, finding both terms indefinite and holding the asserted claims invalid. The court entered judgment accordingly.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit examined whether the district court was correct in finding the term “about,” as used to define the pH range, indefinite. The Federal Circuit analyzed the claim language, the patent’s specification, and the prosecution history. The court found that the intrinsic record did not provide reasonable certainty to those skilled in the art about the scope of “about,” especially since the specification and prosecution history showed inconsistent and conflicting guidance regarding permissible pH deviations. Because the term “about” was indefinite, the Federal Circuit concluded that all asserted claims were invalid. The court therefore affirmed the judgment of invalidity entered by the district court. View "ENVIRO TECH CHEMICAL SERVICES, INC. v. SAFE FOODS CORP. " on Justia Law

This case concerns a group of landowners in Indiana who own property adjacent to former railroad corridors once operated by the Peru and Indianapolis Railroad Company (PIRC). The landowners asserted that they also hold fee simple title to the land underlying these corridors. They challenged the federal government's authorization of public recreational trail use on these corridors under the National Trails System Act Amendments of 1983, claiming that this action constituted a taking of their property without just compensation, in violation of the Fifth Amendment.The United States Court of Federal Claims reviewed the dispute. The main issue was whether PIRC’s interest in the rail corridors consisted merely of easements, rather than fee simple title. The Court of Federal Claims examined two sets of parcels: those associated with a 1907 Indiana Circuit Court quiet title judgment (the Manship Parcels) and those deriving from a lost 1849 instrument (the Vanlaningham Parcels). The Court of Federal Claims concluded that PIRC held only easements in both sets of parcels, meaning that when railroad operations ceased, full title reverted to the plaintiffs under Indiana law. Thus, the court found in favor of the landowners, holding that the government’s issuance of Notices of Interim Trail Use (NITUs) resulted in an uncompensated taking.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the grant of summary judgment de novo. The Federal Circuit affirmed the lower court’s judgment, holding that the record demonstrated PIRC’s interests were limited to easements for both the Manship and Vanlaningham Parcels. The court concluded that, under Indiana law and the facts presented, the plaintiffs hold fee simple title to the corridor land, and the government’s actions constituted a taking for which just compensation is required. The judgment of the Court of Federal Claims was therefore affirmed. View "PRESSLY v. US " on Justia Law

A corporation owns a patent concerning systems and methods for providing access to shipment information using sensors, which can be attached to items for tracking and reporting data to a central location. The patent allows for customization and control over notifications about shipments, including limiting access to sensor information based on certain rules. Some claims of the patent specify restricting access by delaying when information is reported.Litigation began when the corporation sued another company for infringing this patent in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. While the litigation was pending, a third party, who was not a defendant in the district court case, filed petitions with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) challenging some claims of the patent as obvious. The patent owner argued that the PTAB should not consider the petitions because the third party failed to identify all real parties in interest, specifically the company being sued, as required by statute. The PTAB disagreed, instituted review, and later denied a motion to terminate the proceedings for failure to name all real parties in interest. The PTAB issued a final written decision finding all challenged claims unpatentable as obvious.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that it lacked authority to review the PTAB’s refusal to determine whether all real parties in interest were named and its denial of the motion to terminate the proceedings, because such issues are barred from judicial review by statute. However, the appellate court found that the PTAB had erred in concluding that the patent owner had not contested one ground of obviousness and vacated the PTAB’s findings of obviousness for certain claims, remanding those issues for further proceedings. View "FEDERAL EXPRESS CORPORATION v. QUALCOMM INCORPORATED " on Justia Law

The case concerns an anti-dumping investigation initiated by the U.S. Department of Commerce in 2016 into hardwood-plywood products produced in and imported from China. Commerce selected two mandatory respondents, Chengen and Bayley, for individual investigation. Several other exporters and producers, including Jiangyang Wood and Dehua TB, requested voluntary respondent status. The investigation centered on how Chengen calculated its main raw material input—poplar log volumes—which was crucial for determining dumping margins.Initially, Chengen responded to Commerce’s questionnaires by referencing third-party invoices but did not disclose that it used a Conversion Chart, possibly a Chinese National Standard, for measuring log volumes. During the verification stage, Commerce discovered this chart and, suspecting Chengen’s prior responses were incomplete, added only the two-page Conversion Chart to the record, rejecting the rest of a 12-page document Chengen provided at that time. Commerce then switched from the usual factors of production analysis to the intermediate input methodology, using veneer values instead of log volumes, and calculated a 183.36% dumping margin for Chengen and non-mandatory respondents.The United States Court of International Trade (Trade Court) repeatedly remanded the case, directing Commerce to accept the full 12-page document and reconsider its methodology. On remand, Commerce eventually assigned a 0% margin to Chengen and the non-mandatory respondents, and excluded Jiangyang Wood and Dehua TB from the all-others rate due to their qualifying as voluntary respondents.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that Commerce did not abuse its discretion by including only the Conversion Chart in the record and not the rest of the 12-page document. The court found substantial evidence supporting Commerce’s use of the intermediate input methodology and reinstated the 183.36% margin for Chengen and non-mandatory respondents. The court also affirmed the Trade Court’s approval of Commerce’s exclusion of Jiangyang Wood and Dehua TB from the all-others rate. The judgment was affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. View "LINYI CHENGEN IMPORT AND EXPORT CO., LTD. v. US " on Justia Law

Constellation Designs, LLC sued several branches of LG Electronics, alleging willful infringement of nine claims across four patents related to digital communication systems using non-uniform constellations optimized for greater capacity at a lower signal-to-noise ratio. The accused products were LG televisions compatible with the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard, which includes specific protocols for signal transmission. The patents at issue fall into two groups: claims reciting a process for optimizing constellations for capacity using parallel decode (PD) capacity, and claims reciting specific non-uniform constellations.The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas granted summary judgment that all asserted claims were patent eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101. Following a jury trial, the jury found all asserted claims not invalid, found infringement, and awarded damages to Constellation, finding willful infringement. Post-trial motions by LG for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) of non-infringement and no damages, and to exclude Constellation’s damages expert, were denied. The district court entered final judgment in favor of Constellation, including an ongoing royalty.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the summary judgment of eligibility for the claims that recite optimization for PD capacity, finding them ineligible as they are directed to the abstract idea of “optimizing” a constellation for capacity without sufficient limiting detail. The court affirmed summary judgment of eligibility for the claims reciting specific non-uniform constellations, finding these claims recite concrete technological improvements rather than abstract ideas. The Federal Circuit also affirmed the district court’s denial of JMOL of non-infringement and no damages, as well as its denial of LG’s motion to exclude the damages expert. The case was remanded for further proceedings consistent with these rulings. View "CONSTELLATION DESIGNS, LLC v. LG ELECTRONICS INC. " on Justia Law

The petitioner, a former Legal Administrative Specialist at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and insomnia. Her treating psychiatrist determined she was unable to work, and OPM subsequently removed her from federal service, citing her medical inability to perform essential job functions. The removal decision relied on medical documentation from her psychiatrist, which described her symptoms and limitations. Following her removal, the petitioner applied for disability retirement benefits through OPM, submitting the same medical documentation.OPM denied the disability retirement application, stating that while it acknowledged her diagnoses and symptoms, there was insufficient “objective” medical evidence to demonstrate the degree of her impairment and her inability to work. On reconsideration, OPM repeated that the documentation lacked details such as test results, psychotherapy notes, and treatment records. The petitioner appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board (the Board), where OPM maintained its position that her evidence was inadequate. The Board’s administrative judge found that OPM had rebutted the presumption of disability—established when an employee is removed for medical inability—by asserting a lack of objective medical evidence. The Board weighed the evidence and affirmed OPM’s denial, making this its final decision.On review, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit addressed whether OPM and the Board could overcome the presumption of disability (as set out in Bruner v. Office of Personnel Management) simply by asserting the absence of objective medical evidence. The court held that such an assertion alone is insufficient to rebut the presumption of disability. Because the Board relied solely on this rationale, the court concluded the presumption was not rebutted, reversed the Board’s final order, and found the petitioner entitled to disability retirement benefits. View "Garland v. Office of Personnel Management" on Justia Law

A group of plaintiffs, including a medical device company and its founder, developed and sold a cosmetic penile implant. In 2018, a urologist who later became one of the defendants attended a training session hosted by the plaintiffs, where he signed a non-disclosure agreement and was introduced to certain ideas for improving the implant as well as a list of required surgical instruments. Plaintiffs claimed that these ideas and the instrument list were trade secrets. Soon after, the defendants began developing a competing implant, filed patent applications based on allegedly misappropriated information, and advertised using plaintiffs’ trademark.The United States District Court for the Central District of California heard the case, which included claims for trade secret misappropriation, breach of contract under the nondisclosure agreement, trademark counterfeiting, and incorrect inventorship of two patents. The jury found for the plaintiffs on all major claims, including that the asserted trade secrets were protectable and misappropriated, and that there had been a breach of contract. The court awarded substantial damages, including a reasonable royalty, exemplary damages, and a permanent injunction preventing the defendants from using the trade secrets. The court also found for plaintiffs on their counterfeiting claim and invalidated the two patents for failure to name an alleged true inventor.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held there was not legally sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that the asserted information qualified as trade secrets under California law, as the core concepts were either generally known or not subject to reasonable secrecy efforts. The court reversed the denial of judgment as a matter of law on the trade secret and breach-of-contract claims, vacated the damages and injunction based on them, and reversed the invalidation of the patents. However, the court affirmed the verdict and damages for trademark counterfeiting. The result was an affirmance in part, reversal in part, and vacatur in part. View "INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICES, INC. v. CORNELL " on Justia Law

The dispute arose when two pharmaceutical companies, one holding patents on methods of using humanized anti-CGRP antagonist antibodies to treat headaches, accused a competitor of infringing these patents through the marketing of a competing medication. The relevant technology involves antibodies that inhibit the CGRP protein, which is linked to headache by promoting blood vessel dilation. The patents in question claim methods of treating headaches by administering humanized versions of these antibodies. The patent specifications referenced prior art disclosing murine (mouse) antibodies of this type, described methods for their humanization, and included one specific humanized antibody used in the patent holder’s product.Earlier, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts presided over a jury trial. The jury found that the competitor had willfully infringed the asserted patent claims and rejected arguments that the patents were invalid for lack of written description or enablement. Despite the jury’s verdict, the district court granted judgment as a matter of law for the competitor, ruling that the claims were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112 for failing both the written description and enablement requirements. The district court reasoned that the patents did not adequately describe or enable the full scope of the claimed genus of humanized antibodies.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s invalidity judgment. The appellate court held that, in the context of these method claims, the specification and background knowledge in the field were sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that the written description and enablement requirements were met. The court emphasized that the invention concerned the use of a well-known genus of antibodies for a specific purpose, and the specification indicated that all members of the genus would function as claimed. The holding reinstated the jury’s verdict, reversing the district court’s judgment of invalidity, and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "TEVA PHARMACEUTICALS INTERNATIONAL GMBH v. ELI LILLY AND COMPANY " on Justia Law

A company that had previously operated a federal warehouse under contract with the government challenged the government’s decision to override an automatic statutory stay that halted performance of a newly awarded contract to a competitor. After the incumbent’s contract expired, the government solicited new bids and awarded the contract to another company. The incumbent protested this decision to the Government Accountability Office, which triggered an automatic stay under the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) that prevented the new contractor from beginning performance. A few weeks into the stay period, however, the government determined that urgent and compelling circumstances warranted overriding the stay, and it allowed the new contractor to begin work.The incumbent then filed suit in the United States Court of Federal Claims, contending that the government’s override was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The Court of Federal Claims ruled in favor of the incumbent, issuing a declaratory judgment that the override was arbitrary and capricious. The court found that in the context of a CICA stay, the protestor was not required to prove the traditional four equitable factors for injunctive relief, since Congress had provided for an automatic stay mechanism.On appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the government argued that the case was moot after the override was withdrawn, but the Federal Circuit found the dispute to be capable of repetition yet evading review. On the merits, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of Federal Claims, holding that a protestor seeking to set aside a CICA stay override need only show that the agency’s action was arbitrary and capricious, and is not required to satisfy the four-factor test for equitable relief. The judgment was affirmed and costs were awarded to the protestor. View "LIFE SCIENCE LOGISTICS, LLC v. US " on Justia Law

The dispute concerns patented methods and apparatuses for upgrading software in engine controllers by connecting an external device that can replace and restore software without losing the original version. The patent, with a priority date of March 30, 2001, was asserted by the patent owner against a competitor. The accused infringer responded by alleging that a non-party, Hypertech, had sold a device called the Power Programmer III (PP3) well before the patent’s critical date. The PP3 was alleged to have all features described in the asserted patent claims, based on contemporaneous sales records and analysis of its source code.The United States District Court for the District of Utah reviewed the case. The district court granted summary judgment of invalidity under pre-America Invents Act (AIA) 35 U.S.C. § 102(b), finding that the PP3 was on sale more than one year before the patent’s critical date and that it embodied every claim limitation of the asserted patent. In reaching this decision, the district court admitted deposition testimony from Hypertech’s CEO regarding sales records and the device’s code, holding that, at summary judgment, corporate representatives may testify beyond their personal knowledge. The court also found that the source code itself was not hearsay and, even if it were, could be admitted as a business record.On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed. It held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in considering the evidence at summary judgment. The court further clarified that the on-sale bar under pre-AIA § 102(b) does not require a sale to publicly disclose the inner workings of the device; it is sufficient that the sale of a device embodying the patented invention occurred before the critical date. Accordingly, the Federal Circuit affirmed the invalidation of all asserted patent claims. View "DEFINITIVE HOLDINGS v. POWERTEQ " on Justia Law