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

Beginning in 1993 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers implemented temporary deviations from its 1953 Water Control Manual in operating the Clearwater Dam, to protect agricultural and other uses. Efforts to update the Manual were eventually abandoned. The state sought compensation for "taking" of its flowage easement based on flooding of the 23,000-acre Black River Wildlife Management Area, which resulted in excessive timber mortality. The Court of Claims awarded more than $5.5 million in damages. The Federal Circuit reversed, reasoning that temporary flooding, which is not "inevitably recurring," does not amount to a taking, but, at most, created tort liability. In 2012, the Supreme Court reversed, holding that government-induced flooding can qualify as a Fifth Amendment taking, even if temporary in duration. On remand, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Claims Court, after addressing the issues noted by the Supreme Court: whether the injury was caused by authorized government action, whether the injury was a foreseeable result of that action, and whether the injury constituted a sufficiently severe invasion that interfered with the owner’s reasonable expectations as to the use of the land. View "AR Game & Fish Comm'n v. United States" on Justia Law

Access sells software for mobile communication, owns the patents at issue, and entered into an exclusive license agreement with APAC, a subsidiary of Acacia. The agreement gave APAC the exclusive right to grant sublicenses, to sue for damages and to seek relief for infringement of the patents. The agreement disclaims third-party-beneficiary rights, states that APAC may not enforce the patents against, or seek licenses to practice the patents from, Access’s customers and end-users in connection with Access’s products and services, and states that APAC and Access consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of any California state or federal court. APAC assigned all of its rights and liabilities in the patents to a wholly owned subsidiary, SmartPhone. SmartPhone sued Huawei, which makes mobile handsets and tablets, in Texas, alleging that Huawei products infringe the patents. Huawei then sued SmartPhone, Acacia Research, and Access in California, alleging that Huawei has been an Access customer for more than 10 years and seeking declaratory judgments of noninfringement. Based on the Texas filing, the district court dismissed the noninfringement and invalidity counts under the first-to-file rule. Dismissing remaining counts, the court stated that.an allegation that the parties intended Huawei to benefit from the license agreement conflicted with its terms. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "Futurewei Tech., Inc. v. Acacia Research Corp." on Justia Law

Under the Workforce Investment Act, 29 U.S.C. 2887(a)(2)(A), the Department of Labor administers the Job Corps program, providing education, training, and support services to help at-risk youth obtain employment. There are 125 Job Corps Centers, including Blue Ridge in Marion, Virginia, which Res-Care has operated since 1998. In 2011, DOL published a Request for Information from potential bidders on an upcoming procurement for the operation of Blue Ridge. Res-Care’s contract was to expire in 2013. The Request encouraged firms that qualify as small businesses to respond with a “capabilities statement.” One large and four small businesses submitted statements. Res-Care, a large business, did not submit. The contracting officer found that, based on the responses, DOL would likely receive bids from at least two responsible small businesses at fair market prices, as required by the Federal Acquisition Regulation, 38 C.F.R. 19.502-2(b), and recommended conducting the selection as a small business set-aside. DOL issued a presolicitation notice indicating that the next Blue Ridge contract, with a value of $25 million, would be solicited as a “100% Set-Aside for Small Business.” Res-Care filed a bid protest alleging that DOL violated WIA by setting aside the Blue Ridge contract for small businesses, based on the “competitive basis” provision in section 2887. The Claims Court and Federal Circuit upheld the DOL determination.View "Res-Care, Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law

Prinkey served in the Army, 1969 to 1970, including time in Vietnam. He was diagnosed with diabetes in 1996. Diabetes mellitus type II is presumed to be service connected if the veteran was exposed to Agent Orange, 38 U.S.C. 1116(a)(2)(H) (2002). In 2003, the VA received Prinkey’s claim for benefits on account of his diabetes, asserting exposure to Agent Orange. The VA Regional Office grantedservice connection for diabetes, evaluated at 20%, and lesser rated service connection for other disabilities secondary to diabetes. Prinkey sought to reopen his claim. During reexamination, the VA concluded that his diabetes more likely than not resulted from the surgery that removed most of his pancreas following years of alcohol abuse, not from his exposure to Agent Orange. Ultimately the Board of Veterans’ Appeals sustained severance of service connection for diabetes and related disabilities and denied entitlement to a total disability rating based on individual unemployability. The Veterans Court affirmed. The Federal Circuit affirmed. Under 38 C.F.R. 3.105(d) “service connection will be severed only where evidence establishes that it is clearly and unmistakably erroneous; the VA may consider medical evidence and diagnoses that postdate the original award of service connection. View "Prinkey v. Shinseki" on Justia Law

Apple sued Samsung, alleging infringement of Apple patents and dilution of Apple’s trade dress. Samsung counterclaimed, alleging infringement of its own patents. A jury returned a verdict substantially in Apple’s favor, finding that 26 Samsung smartphones and tablets infringed Apple patents and that six Samsung smartphones diluted Apple’s registered iPhone trade dress and unregistered iPhone 3G trade dress. The jury rejected Samsung’s infringement counterclaims and awarded Apple more than $1 billion. The district court set aside a portion of the damages award for certain products and scheduled a partial new trial on damages, but affirmed the jury’s liability findings. The court denied Apple’s request for a permanent injunction. The Federal Circuit affirmed the denial of injunctive relief with respect to design patents and trade dress, but vacated the denial with respect to Apple’s utility patents. The court noted that Samsung has stopped selling the products found to dilute trade dress, but that, with respect to the utility patents, the court must assess whether Apple’s evidence suffices to establish irreparable injury. View "Apple, Inv. v. Samsung Elecs. Co." on Justia Law

OWW owns related patents directed to cushioning devices that fit over the residual stumps of amputated limbs to make the use of prosthetics more comfortable. Some of the patents have been asserted in patent infringement suits and many have been involved in reexamination proceedings before the Patent and Trademark Office. OWW sued Alps for infringement of the 237 patent, entitled “Gel and Cushioning Devices,” lists Kania as the sole inventor and has an application date of 1996. The district court issued its claim construction order. Alps subsequently initiated the first of two consecutive ex parte reexaminations of the 237 patent. After a stay was lifted, the district court granted summary judgment to Alps, finding certain claims invalid due to the collateral estoppel effect of parallel litigation and other claims invalid for obviousness. The district court also granted OWW summary judgment of no inequitable conduct. The Federal Circuit affirmed on the issues of collateral estoppel and obviousness, but reversed and remanded on the issue of inequitable conduct. Issues of material fact regarding whether OWW committed inequitable conduct during the reexamination proceedings by withholding information preclude summary judgment.View "Ohio Willow Wood Co. v. ALPS South, LLC" on Justia Law

Wilton imported 39 models of paper punches from Taiwan for use in scrapbooking and craft projects, to cut paper in a variety of shapes and sizes. Except for one model, U.S. Customs and Border Protection initially liquidated the punches under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the U.S. (HTSUS) subheading 8203.40.60 as “perforating punches and similar handtools” with a duty margin of 3.3%. Customs denied Wilton’s protests to classify them under the duty free HTSUS subheading 8441.10.00 as “cutting machines of all kinds.” The parties entered into a stipulation agreement to classify 23 models under subheading 8441.10.00 because they were too large to use in the hand. Customs maintained that subheading 8203.40.60 was proper for the 16 models that remained in dispute because they were “intended for use when held in the hand.” The U.S. Court of International Trade granted the government summary judgment, setting aside the stipulation and finding that the punches “prima facie fall under Heading 8203 as a perforating punch.” The Federal Circuit affirmed; the articles at issue are described eo nomine by HTSUS Heading 8203.40 View "Wilton Indus., Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law

IL-13 is a regulatory molecule called a cytokine. Cytokines interact with cytokine receptors located on target cells. Sanofi and Pfizer were conducting research, for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes, and each discovered and filed patent applications directed to the polynucleotide encoding the IL-13 protein binding chain. The patent is awarded to the first applicant to conceive and reduce to practice the invention represented by an interference count, in accordance with Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) rules. Sanofi had a December 6, 1995 priority date. Pfizer’s filing date was March 1, 1996; Pfizer bore the burden of proving a date of conception earlier than Sanofi’s date. Pfizer presented evidence that it had isolated and identified the desired cDNA before that date, but, due to sequencing errors, did not then have a completely accurate analysis of the entire nucleotide sequence. The PTO Board found that Pfizer had “the claimed polynucleotide in hand with some additional identifying information including at least a partial sequence,” and ruled that Pfizer “established conception and actual reduction to practice of a polynucleotide within the scope of count 3” before the Sanofi date. The Federal Circuit affirmed; possession and appreciation of the actual isolated DNA is dispositive for priority of conception for an interference count directed to isolated DNA.View "Sanofi-Aventis v. Pfizer, Inc." on Justia Law

The patent concerns blood glucose monitoring systems, used by individuals with diabetes. Such systems typically consist of an electrochemical meter and disposable test strips onto which the user places a drop of blood. The strip contains “working electrodes” or “reference electrodes,” that connect to the meter during operation. Each working electrode is coated with an enzyme and a mediator. The enzyme reacts with glucose in the blood sample, releasing electrons. The mediator then transfers those electrons to the working electrode, which is connected to the meter, which measures the resulting electric current to determine blood glucose level. Meters and test strips of this general design became available in the 1980s. LifeScan’s patent claims to improve earlier systems with a method of comparing measurements from separate working electrodes. Significant differences in the readings of the working electrodes indicate problems such as inadequate sample volume or manufacturing defects, and the readings are to be discarded. A reference electrode on the strip serves as a common reference for both working electrodes. LifeScan manufactures such a system, the “OneTouch Ultra” and claimed infringement by defendant. The district court found likely infringement and entered an injunction. The Federal Circuit reversed, finding that defendant established a patent exhaustion defense. View "Lifescan Scotland, Ltd. v. Shasta Tech., LLC" on Justia Law

Probe cards are used to test chips on semiconductor wafers. Probes have tips that make contact with bonding pads on the periphery of each chip, initially pierce the oxide layer atop the conductive layer of the bonding pad, then are moved along the pads to a second position to create a reliable electrical contact, leaving a “scrub mark” on the bonding pad in the process. ITC sued Rudolph for infringement of the patent, which discloses a digital viewing system to assess whether probes have become misaligned relative to each other by predicting the length and location of scrub marks. The system includes a camera under a viewing window that obtains the three-dimensional coordinates of the probe tips in first and second states. The district court entered summary judgment, finding infringement. The Federal Circuit reversed in part and affirmed in part. Prosecution history estoppel precludes the application of the doctrine of equivalents and a willfulness finding predicated on that judgment and a corresponding award of enhanced damages must, therefore, be vacated. The court affirmed the award of damages for literal infringement.View "Integrated Tech. Corp. v. Rudolph Tech., Inc." on Justia Law