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

The High Line is an elevated “linear park” in New York City that runs along the west side of Manhattan from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. The park, used for walking, jogging, and other recreational purposes, occupied the elevated viaduct of a former railway line. In 2005, the elevated viaduct was converted to a public recreational trail under the authority of the National Trails System Act. Before the Federal District Court of Appeals was a takings matter: appellant Romanoff Equities, Inc., contended that the conversion of the railway property to a trail entailed a taking of its property without just compensation. The Court of Federal Claims held, on summary judgment, that the conversion did not result in a taking of Romanoff’s property. Finding no reversible error, the Federal District appellate court affirmed. View "Romanoff Equities, Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law

Applicants Ray and Amanda Tears Smith appealed a final decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board which affirmed the rejection of claims 1–18 of U.S. Patent Application No. 12/912,410 for claiming patent-ineligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. 101. Applicants filed the ’410 patent application, titled “Blackjack Variation.” According to the application, “[t]he present invention relates to a wagering game utilizing real or virtual standard playing cards.” The examiner concluded that the claims represented “an attempt to claim a new set of rules for playing a card game,” which “qualifies as an abstract idea.” Because the claims covered only the abstract idea of rules for playing a wagering game and use conventional steps of shuffling and dealing a standard deck of cards, the Federal District Court of Appeals affirmed. View "In re: Smith" on Justia Law

Petitioner Louise Klees-Wallace was employed as an Attorney-Advisor in the International Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”). In May 2011, the FCC proposed removing Klees-Wallace from employment due to her absence without leave (“AWOL”) and failure to follow instructions. In June 2012, the parties entered into a last chance agreement (“LCA”), which allowed Klees-Wallace to return to work with the FCC pursuant to certain conditions. Klees-Wallace appealed an arbitration Opinion and Interim Award of Mary Bass (“Arbitrator”), who determined Klees-Wallace was deprived of certain procedural rights during her removal from employment, and remanded the matter for a new determination. After review, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the arbitration Opinion and Interim Award was not a "final order or final decision," and therefore the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal. The appeal was dismissed. View "Klees-Wallace v. Fed. Commun. Comm'n" on Justia Law

Karen Dixon, recently substituted as appellant for her deceased husband Donald, and appealed a Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans Court) decision dismissing her appeal based on a nonjurisdictional timeliness defense that Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald waived. Mr. Dixon was diagnosed in 2003 with sarcoidosis of the lungs and transverse myelitis. He filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) seeking benefits for his sarcoidosis, which he alleged was connected to his service. A VA regional office denied Mr. Dixon’s claim, and the Board of Veterans Appeals affirmed. Acting pro se, Mr. Dixon filed a notice of appeal with the Veterans Court sixty days beyond the 120-day filing deadline set out in 38 U.S.C. 7266(a). The Veterans Court denied Mr. Dixon equitable tolling. He obtained pro bono counsel and filed a request for reconsideration of this denial, but the Veterans Court denied that request too. Mr. Dixon appealed, but then he died of his medical conditions while his appeal was pending. The Federal Circuit reversed because the Veterans Court’s denial of an extension of time had effectively denied Mr. Dixon’s new pro bono counsel access to evidence he would need to prove his claim. On remand, the Veterans Court substituted Mrs. Dixon and requested briefing from the parties on whether equitable tolling excused Mr. Dixon’s late filing. The Secretary responded by waiving his objection. Because the Veterans Court did not have the sua sponte authority to grant the Secretary relief on a defense he waived, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal of Mrs. Dixon’s appeal and remanded for consideration on the merits. View "Dixon v. McDonald" on Justia Law

Appellants Ulf Bamberg, Peter Kummer, and Ilona Stiburek (collectively, "Bamberg") appealed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s consolidated interference proceeding decision refusing to allow their claims to four patent applications because the specification failed to meet the written description requirement of 35 U.S.C. 112. The involved claims disclose a method for the transfer of printed images onto dark colored textiles by ironing over a specialty transfer paper. During the interference proceeding, Appellees Jodi Dalvey and Nabil Nasser (collectively, "Dalvey") filed a motion alleging that Bamberg’s claims were unpatentable for lack of written description. Dalvey alleged that the claims recited a white layer that melted at a wide range of temperatures, but Bamberg’s specification only disclosed a white layer that did not melt at ironing temperatures (i.e., below 220°C). Therefore, Dalvey argued that Bamberg’s specification failed to meet the written description requirement because it did not disclose an invention in which the white layer melted at temperatures below 220°C. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeal concluded that the Board properly construed the claims, and substantial evidence supported the Board’s determination that Bamberg failed to meet the written description requirement, and because it was not an abuse of discretion to deny Bamberg’s motion to amend. View "Bamberg v. Dalvey" on Justia Law

Maurice Sullivan appealed a Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims' judgment which affirmed a decision of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals conclusion that the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) had satisfied its duty to assist Sullivan with a request to reopen his claim. Sullivan filed a claim for service-connected benefits for back and neck injuries. He sought treatment in 1984 for back and neck pain at a VA medical facility in Asheville, North Carolina, but that the doctors found nothing wrong with his back and neck. The VA denied Sullivan’s claim, finding that the medical evidence of record did not establish service-connection for his injuries. Ten years later, Sullivan submitted new evidence and sought to reopen his claim. The Board denied the request to reopen, finding the newly submitted evidence was not material. The Board also determined that the VA had satisfied its duty to assist Sullivan in obtaining identified and available evidence. After review, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Veterans Court relied on the wrong legal standard in affirming the Board’s determination that the duty to assist was satisfied. Accordingly, the Court reversed and remanded for further proceedings. View "Sullivan v. McDonald" on Justia Law

Wade Thompson appealed a Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims' judgment which affirmed a decision of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals denying Thompson a disability rating in excess of 20% for degenerative disc disease of the lumbar spine prior to March 8, 2011. The Veterans Court’s decision was based in part upon its interpretation of 38 C.F.R. 4.40 in light of section 4.71a. Thompson’s appeal raised a question of first impression for the Federal Circuit: whether section 4.40 provided a basis for a rating separate from section 4.71a. After review of the applicable statutes, the Court concluded "no" and affirmed the Veterans Court. View "Thompson v. McDonald" on Justia Law

Queen’s University at Kingston, Canada, owns patents directed to Attentive User Interfaces, which allow devices to change their behavior based on the attentiveness of a user—for example, pausing or starting a video based on a user’s eye-contact with the device. Queen’s sued, alleging that Samsung’s SmartPause feature infringed those patents. Throughout fact discovery, Queen’s University refused to produce certain documents. It produced privilege logs that withheld documents based on its assertion of a privilege relating to communications with its patent agents. A magistrate granted Samsung’s motion to compel, finding that the communications between Queen’s University employees and their non-attorney patent agents are not subject to the attorney-client privilege and that a separate patent-agent privilege does not exist. The district court declined to certify the issue for interlocutory appeal, but agreed to stay the production of the documents at issue pending a petition for writ of mandamus. The Federal Circuit granted that petition, finding that, consistent with Federal Rule of Evidence 501, a patent-agent privilege is justified “in the light of reason and experience” and extends to communications with non-attorney patent agents when those agents are acting within the agent’s authorized practice of law before the Patent Office. View "In Re: Queen's Univ. at Kingston" on Justia Law

In 2012, one in five female veterans and one in 100 male veterans reported that they experienced sexual abuse in the military, and an estimated 26,000 service members “experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact.” The trauma stemming from sexual abuse in the military (military sexual trauma (MST)) can result in severe chronic medical conditions, including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, depression, and anxiety. Generally, veterans with service-connected disabilities are entitled to disability benefits, 38 U.S.C. 1110, 1131. In response to what they viewed as the VA’s inadequate response to MST-based disability claims, veterans’ groups submitted a petition for rulemaking which requested that the VA promulgate a new regulation regarding the adjudication of certain MST-based disability claims. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs denied the petition. The Federal Circuit upheld the denial, noting its limited and deferential review and stating that the Secretary adequately explained its reasons for denying the petition. The court rejected a claim that in denying the petition, the Secretary violated the equal protection clause by intentionally discriminating against women without providing an exceedingly persuasive justification or discriminating against survivors of MST-based PTSD without providing a legitimate reason. View "Serv. Women's Action Network v. Sec'y of Veterans Affairs" on Justia Law

JBLU does business as C’est Toi Jeans USA. In 2010, JBLU imported jeans manufactured in China, embroidered with “C’est Toi Jeans USA,” “CT Jeans USA,” or “C’est Toi Jeans Los Angeles” in various fonts. JBLU filed trademark applications for “C’est Toi Jeans USA” and “CT Jeans USA” on October 8, 2010, stating that the marks had been used in commerce since 2005. Customs inspected the jeans and found violation of the Tariff Act, which requires that imported articles be marked with their country of origin, 19 U.S.C. 1304(a); JBLU’s jeans were marked with “USA” and “Los Angeles,” but small-font “Made in China” labels were not in close proximity to and of at least the same size as “USA” and “Los Angeles.” Customs applied more lenient requirements to the jeans that were marked with “C’est Toi Jeans USA” or “CT Jeans USA” and were imported after JBLU filed its trademark applications. The Trade Court granted the government summary judgment. The Federal Circuit reversed, finding that the more-lenient requirements apply to unregistered, as well as registered, trademarks. Regulations in the same chapter as 19 C.F.R. 134.47 and regulations in a different chapter but the same title use the word “trademark” to include registered and unregistered trademarks. View "JBLU, Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law