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

The patent, titled “Man Machine Interface via Display Peripheral” is directed to a remote control device for making selections on television or computer screens. Claim 1 requires that the device be “adapted to be held by the human hand” and a multi-function “thumb switch being adapted for activation by a human thumb.” On ex parte reexamination, the examiner rejected claims as anticipated and obvious, 35 U.S.C. 103, relying primarily on Japanese Patent 634, which discloses a desk-bound mouse with a locking key surrounded by four moving keys operable by a user’s finger to control cursor movement on a screen. The examiner construed “adapted to be held by the human hand” broadly to include various “forms of grasp or grasping by a user’s hand,” such as grasping the mouse disclosed in J634, and similarly interpreted the claim term “thumb switch” broadly, as “merely requir[ing] that a switch . . . be capable of being enabled/activated by a thumb but . . . not preclud[ing] another digit, i.e. index finger.” The Board affirmed. The Federal Circuit reversed the anticipation rejection based on improper claim construction, but held that, even properly construed, certain claims would have been obvious under J634. The court remanded for determination of whether certain claims would have been obvious under the correct claim constructions. View "In Re: Man Machine Interface Tech., LLC" on Justia Law

Coleman sells an array of products, including personal flotation devices and owns the D714 patent, which claims “[t]he ornamental design for a personal flotation device” with two arm bands connected to a torso piece. The torso piece is flat on its back and tapers toward a connecting strap on its sides. Sport Dimension sells water-sports-related equipment, including its Body Glove® line of personal flotation devices, which also have two armbands connected to a torso piece. Unlike Coleman’s design, the torso section in the Body Glove® device extends upwards to form a vest that goes over a person’s shoulders. Sport Dimension sought a declaratory judgment that it did not infringe the D714 patent and that the patent is invalid. The district court excluded Coleman’s expert, stating that he “appears to possess substantial experience in the field of industrial design … [but] has no substantive experience in the narrower field of personal flotation device design” and entered judgment of noninfringement. The Federal Circuit affirmed exclusion of the expert, but vacated the judgment, rejecting the district court’s claim construction, which eliminated several features of Coleman’s claimed design, specifically the armbands and the side torso tapering. View "Sport Dimension, Inc. v. Coleman Co., Inc." on Justia Law

GTG’s 179 patent claims methods of analyzing sequences of genomic deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for decoding genetic variations. The Federal Circuit affirmed dismissal of GTG’s infringement suit, finding certain claims ineligible for patenting under 35 U.S.C. 101. The court stated that GTG’s attempts to distinguish its position on the ground that the method of the claim is useful “have no basis in case law or in logic.” The claim ineligible for claiming unpatentable subject matter, not for lack of utility; even valuable contributions can fall short of statutory patentable subject matter. View "Genetic Techs. Ltd. v. Merial L.L.C." on Justia Law

Miller served on active duty, 2003-2007, and has a VA disability rating of 60 percent. Since 2008, Miller has been employed as an FDIC Economic Analyst. He was hired at the GS-9 level and has risen to the GS-12 level. In 2012 the FDIC posted vacancy announcements for a CG-13 Financial Economist position: one open to all citizens and another for status candidates. Miller applied under both procedures and was one of three finalists. Three FDIC employees participated in the interviews, rating each candidate’s answers to questions on bank failure prediction models as Outstanding, Good, or Inadequate. All of the candidates received some "inadequate" ratings. No candidate was selected; the vacancy was cancelled. Miller filed a Department of Labor complaint, stating that the cancellation was in bad faith to avoid hiring a veteran or having to request a “pass over” from the Office of Personnel Management. The Merit Systems Protection Board denied his petition under the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act, finding that the allegation of non-selection in violation of veterans’ rights was sufficient to confer jurisdiction, but that Miller had not established a violation because the FDIC “conducted a thorough, structured interview of each of the candidates” and “none of the interviewees possessed the requisite skills and knowledge for the position.” The Federal Circuit affirmed; substantial evidence indicated that cancellation was predicated on a lack of appropriately qualified candidates. View "Miller v. Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp." on Justia Law

Veterans’ Groups challenged regulations issued in 2014 by the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to its notice-and-comment rulemaking authority. The Final Rule amended the VA’s adjudication and appellate regulations to require that all claims for compensation “[f]or disability resulting from personal injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty, or for aggravation of a preexisting injury suffered or disease contracted in line of duty . . . during a period of war” and related appeals originate on standard VA forms. The VA’s prior regulation provided that “[a]ny communication or action, indicating an intent to apply for . . . benefits[,] . . . may be considered an informal claim,” 38 C.F.R. 3.155(a). The Federal Circuit denied the petitions and found the Final Rule valid because it accords with applicable rulemaking procedures and is not arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise contrary to law. The Rule does not contravene Congress’s mandate that the VA has a duty to develop veterans’ claims. View "Veterans Justice Grp., LLC v. Sec'y of Veterans Affairs" on Justia Law

Dover served in the Navy, 1956-1960, and, in 1968, filed a claim for service-connected disability benefits. His claim for a hand injury was denied; he did not appeal. In 2004, the VA regional office (RO) denied Dover's motion to reopen. In 2008, Dover requested clear and unmistakable error (CUE) review of both the 1968 decision and the 2004 refusal to reopen. In 2009, the RO granted service connection based on new medical evidence and assigned an effective date of March, 2006, the date of another request to reopen. In 2009, Dover appealed for an earlier effective date of 1968, but the RO found no CUE. In 2011, Dover provided more detailed arguments. The Board for Veterans’ Appeals issued a final ruling of no CUE. On appeal, the VA conceded that it erred by failing to dismiss Dover’s non-specific CUE claim. The Veterans Court remanded with instructions to allow and consider additional evidence and argument in support of the claim. The Board dismissed Dover’s 2008 claim without prejudice but treated the 2011 submission of additional arguments as a separate CUE claim and remanded to the RO. Dover moved under the Equal Access to Justice Act for attorney’s fees incurred on appeal, 28 U.S.C. 2412(d). The Veterans Court rejected the motion because it believed that its remand was for dismissal. The Federal Circuit reversed, stating that the remand expressly contemplated, and the appellant received, further proceedings, sufficient for prevailing party status. View "Dover v. McDonald" on Justia Law

Rembrandt sued, alleging that JJVC’s Acuvue Advance® and Oasys® contact lenses infringed Rembrandt’s patent. Rembrandt relied on expert testimony from Dr. Beebe, who presented test results, to prove that the accused lenses met the “surface layer” and “soft” claim limitations. During cross-examination, Beebe drastically changed his testimony regarding his testing methodology. JJVC relied on expert testimony from Dr. Bielawski that its lenses did not meet the “surface layer” limitation, but did not present expert testimony concerning the “soft” limitation. In his testimony, Bielawski impugned Beebe’s credibility. The court ultimately struck Beebe’s testimony regarding the testing and granted judgment as a matter of law that Rembrandt failed to prove that the accused lenses were “soft.” The Federal Circuit affirmed. After trial, Rembrandt received information suggesting that Bielawski testified falsely. Although the court denied Rembrandt’s request for post-trial discovery, Rembrandt received much of what it sought from Bielawski’s employer, the University of Texas, through an open records request. The parties no longer dispute that Bielawski testified falsely on material issues. The Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of a motion for a new trial. The district court erred in requiring proof that JJVC or its counsel was complicit in Bielawski’s false testimony. View "Rembrandt Vision Techs., L.P. v. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc." on Justia Law

Eilise was born in 1996 and had problems with gross motor skills and language development. After therapy, Eilise showed dramatic improvement. In 2001, Eilise received three vaccinations, including her second dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine. Five days later, Eilise’s brother witnessed her arching her back, thrusting her head back, rolling her eyes, and jerking. He did not know what was happening. Her parents, who did not witness the seizure, noted that Eilise was feverish and lethargic. Eilise had a grand mal seizure at school. She was taken to a hospital. She had another seizure there. Eilise’s MRI results were generally normal, but her EEG results were “consistent with a clinical diagnosis of epilepsy.” She continued to suffer seizures until she started a ketogenic diet. Her parents filed suit under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, 42 U.S.C. 300aa, alleging that Eilise suffered from autism as a result of her vaccinations; they later amended to allege, instead, that Eilise suffered from a “seizure disorder and encephalopathy.” The Claims Court affirmed denial of her petition. The Federal Circuit vacated: in certain cases, a petitioner can prove a logical sequence of cause and effect between a vaccination and the injury with a physician’s opinion where the petitioner has proved that the vaccination can cause the injury and that the vaccination and injury have a close temporal proximity. View "Moriarty v. Sec'y of Health & Human Servs." on Justia Law

In 2013, Canava, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent, was indicted on felony counts and pleaded guilty to “Unlawful Imprisonment by Strangulation, Domestic Violence, a class six undesignated offense.” Judgment was entered for the “undesignated offense” of unlawful imprisonment. The Department of Homeland Security proposed to remove Canava from federal service under 5 U.S.C. 7371, which mandates removal of federal law enforcement officers convicted of a felony. The removal notice stated that “[p]ursuant to Arizona Law, A.R.S. § 13-604, this conviction is a felony conviction for all purposes until the offense is affirmatively designated a misdemeanor by the Court.” Canava argued that 5 U.S.C. 7371 did not apply and could not be the basis for his removal because he pleaded guilty to an “undesignated offense” and not a felony. According to Canava, until a judge designated his offense a felony, he had not been convicted of a felony. DHS disagreed. An Arbitrator sustained his removal. The Federal Circuit affirmed.Canava was convicted of an undesignated offense that, under Arizona law, carried the same punishment as a class 6 felony—a presumptive sentence of one year imprisonment, with a mitigated sentence of 0.33 years and an aggravated sentence of two years. View "Canava v. Dep't of Homeland Sec." on Justia Law

Pride Mobility and Permobil compete for sales of power wheelchairs. Pride’s 598 and 343 patents disclose wheelchairs that raise their front wheels (called caster wheels) in response to torque from the chairs’ motors, enhancing the capacity of the chairs to travel stably over obstacles. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board instituted inter partes reviews of the patents on petitions filed by Permobil, under 35 U.S.C. 311, and cancelled all claims of both patents for obviousness. The Federal Circuit reversed in part, finding that the Board misconstrued claim 7 of the 343 patent, which requires a “substantially planar” mounting plate “oriented perpendicular” to the axis of the claimed wheelchair’s drive wheel. The court affirmed as to all other claims, rejecting an argument that the Board erred in concluding that a relevant skilled artisan would have been motivated to make the claimed wheelchair by lowering the position of a pivot in a prior-art wheelchair. View "Pride Mobility Prods. Corp. v. Permobil, Inc." on Justia Law