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

A veteran of the United States Air Force, Clinton Siples, was granted service connection for bilateral shoulder subluxation by a Regional Office (RO) of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). After the decision became final, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims (Veterans Court) decided Burton v. Shinseki, which interpreted 38 C.F.R. § 4.59 as not limited to cases of arthritis. Mr. Siples then filed a motion alleging clear and unmistakable error (CUE) in the RO’s rating decision, arguing that the newly interpreted § 4.59 would have required the VA to assign him a higher rating for his shoulder disability, which was not based on arthritis.The Veterans Court affirmed the Board of Veterans’ Appeals’ (Board) denial of Mr. Siples’s CUE motion, stating that at the time of his rating decision, § 4.59 was not undebatably understood to apply to cases other than arthritis, and thus there was no error of the type required for CUE. The Veterans Court applied the standard that CUE must be analyzed based on the law as it was understood at the time of the original decision and cannot arise from a subsequent change in the law or interpretation thereof.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the Veterans Court’s decision. The Federal Circuit held that CUE must be based on the law at the time of the decision, and at the time of the RO’s decision in Mr. Siples’s case, § 4.59 was not undebatably understood as applying to cases other than arthritis. The court concluded that the regulation’s plain language did not clearly apply to non-arthritis claims, and the understanding of § 4.59 in July 2004 did not undebatably require the RO to assign a higher rating to Mr. Siples’s non-arthritic shoulder disability. View "SIPLES v. COLLINS " on Justia Law

HD Silicon Solutions LLC (HDSS) appealed a decision by the United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) which held claims 1–7 and 9–17 of U.S. Patent 6,774,033 (the '033 patent) unpatentable as obvious. The '033 patent pertains to a local interconnect layer in an integrated circuit, specifically involving a method of forming this layer using titanium nitride and tungsten films.Microchip Technology Inc. (Microchip) petitioned for inter partes review (IPR), arguing that the claims were obvious over U.S. Patent 5,847,463 (Trivedi). The Board construed the term "comprising tungsten" to include both elemental tungsten and tungsten compounds, and found that the claims were unpatentable based on Trivedi alone or in combination with other references. HDSS appealed this decision, challenging the Board's claim construction and its findings on the motivation to combine references.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court agreed with HDSS that the Board's construction of "comprising tungsten" was incorrect, determining that the term should be limited to elemental tungsten. However, the court found that this error was harmless because Trivedi disclosed both elemental tungsten and tungsten-silicide layers, either of which would render the claims obvious. The court also upheld the Board's findings on the motivation to combine references, rejecting HDSS's arguments that the Board misinterpreted Trivedi and failed to explain the motivation to combine references to meet specific claim limitations.Ultimately, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's decision, holding that the claims of the '033 patent were unpatentable as obvious. View "HD SILICON SOLUTIONS LLC v. MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC. " on Justia Law

The case involves 27-35 Jackson Avenue LLC ("Jackson"), the owner of a New York City office building, which leased two floors to the United States government for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Office. The lease, starting in May 2009, included a clause allowing termination if the premises were rendered untenantable by fire or other casualty, as determined by the government. In January 2015, a burst sprinkler head caused extensive water damage, leading the government to vacate the premises and eventually terminate the lease, citing untenantability.The United States Court of Federal Claims granted summary judgment in favor of the government, finding that the government did not breach the lease agreement. The court held that the government’s determination of untenantability was within its discretion and was not made in bad faith. Jackson's claim that the government acted unreasonably and in bad faith was rejected, as the court found no evidence to support these allegations.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the lower court's decision. The appellate court held that the government’s determination of untenantability was not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. The court emphasized that the lease explicitly allowed the government to make this determination. Additionally, the court found that Jackson failed to provide clear and convincing evidence of bad faith or a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The court concluded that the government acted within its contractual rights and upheld the summary judgment in favor of the government. View "27-35 JACKSON AVE LLC v. US " on Justia Law

Gesture Technology Partners, LLC owns U.S. Patent No. 8,878,949, which is directed to image capture technology using a portable device with an electro-optical sensor and a digital camera. Apple Inc. filed an inter partes review (IPR) petition challenging the patent's claims as obvious over prior art references Numazaki and Nonaka. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the "Board") found claims 1-3, 5-10, and 12-17 unpatentable but upheld claims 4, 11, and 18. Gesture cross-appealed the unpatentability findings, and Apple appealed the findings regarding claims 4, 11, and 18.The Board concluded that claims 1-3 and 5-7 were obvious based on the combination of Numazaki and Nonaka, which disclosed a device that captures images in response to detected gestures. However, the Board found that claim 4, which required the electro-optical sensor to be "fixed" in relation to the digital camera, was not obvious because Numazaki did not disclose this limitation.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the Board's determination that claims 1-3 and 5-7 were unpatentable. The court found that the Board had substantial evidence to support its conclusion that a person of ordinary skill in the art would combine the teachings of Numazaki and Nonaka to render these claims obvious.However, the court reversed the Board's determination regarding claim 4. The court found that the Board had improperly ignored Apple’s expert testimony, which demonstrated that fixing the electro-optical sensor and digital camera in relation to each other was desirable and obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The court concluded that the record showed that the fixed relationship was necessary to maintain overlapping fields of view, which was essential for the device's functionality.The Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's findings for claims 1-3 and 5-7 and reversed the finding for claim 4, holding it unpatentable. View "APPLE INC. v. GESTURE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS, LLC " on Justia Law

Dr. Jabeen N. Abutalib, a physician with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), sought corrective action from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) for alleged retaliatory personnel actions following her Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaint. Dr. Abutalib claimed that her EEO complaint, which was settled in January 2020, led to adverse actions including a reduction in pay and reassignment. She filed a whistleblower complaint with the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) and subsequently appealed to the MSPB.The MSPB dismissed Dr. Abutalib’s appeal for lack of jurisdiction, stating that she failed to make a nonfrivolous showing of whistleblowing or other protected activity. The administrative judge noted that as a VHA physician, Dr. Abutalib could not appeal adverse agency actions under chapter 75 of title 5. Additionally, the judge found that her claims of retaliation for filing an EEO complaint did not constitute whistleblowing under 5 U.S.C. § 2302(b)(8) or protected activity under § 2302(b)(9)(A)(i).The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the MSPB’s decision. The court held that Dr. Abutalib did not present her argument regarding the settlement agreement as evidence of whistleblowing to the administrative judge, and thus could not raise it for the first time on appeal. Furthermore, the court found that the matters addressed in the settlement agreement were not the subjects of her OSC complaint, indicating a failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The court concluded that Dr. Abutalib did not make a nonfrivolous showing of a qualifying whistleblowing disclosure and upheld the MSPB’s dismissal of her appeal. View "ABUTALIB v. MSPB " on Justia Law

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. holds a Biologics License Application (BLA) for EYLEA®, a therapeutic product containing aflibercept, a VEGF antagonist used to treat angiogenic eye diseases. Regeneron also owns U.S. Patent No. 11,084,865, which covers VEGF-trap formulations suitable for intravitreal injection. Several companies, including Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. (SB), filed abbreviated Biologics License Applications (aBLAs) seeking approval to market EYLEA® biosimilars. Regeneron sued these companies, including SB, for patent infringement in the Northern District of West Virginia.The district court consolidated the cases and granted Regeneron’s motion for a preliminary injunction against SB, enjoining it from marketing its biosimilar product in the U.S. without a license from Regeneron. The court found it had personal jurisdiction over SB based on SB’s aBLA filing and its distribution agreement with Biogen, which indicated plans for nationwide marketing, including West Virginia. The court also found that Regeneron was likely to succeed on the merits, as SB had not raised a substantial question of invalidity of the ’865 patent for obviousness-type double patenting or lack of written description.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s decision. The appellate court agreed that the district court had personal jurisdiction over SB, as SB’s actions indicated plans to market its biosimilar nationwide. The court also upheld the district court’s findings that SB had not raised a substantial question of invalidity for the ’865 patent. The court found that the patent’s specific stability and glycosylation requirements were patentably distinct from the reference patent and adequately supported by the specification. The court also agreed that Regeneron had established a causal nexus between SB’s infringement and the irreparable harm it would suffer without an injunction. View "REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. v. MYLAN PHARMACEUTICALS INC. " on Justia Law

Steuben Foods, Inc. (Steuben) filed a complaint in 2010 in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, alleging that Shibuya Hoppmann Corp. infringed claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,209,591, 6,536,188, and 6,702,985. Shibuya Kogyo Co., Ltd. was added as a defendant in 2012, and a similar complaint was filed against HP Hood LLC. The cases were consolidated and later transferred to the District of Delaware in 2019. The district court issued a claim construction order in 2020 and denied cross-motions for summary judgment in 2021. A five-day jury trial resulted in a verdict that the asserted patents were valid and infringed, awarding Steuben $38,322,283.78 in damages.The district court granted Shibuya’s motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) of noninfringement for all asserted patents, found the invalidity arguments waived, and conditionally granted a new trial. Steuben appealed the JMOL and the conditional grant of a new trial.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court reversed the JMOL of noninfringement for the ’591 and ’188 patents, finding substantial evidence supported the jury’s verdict of infringement. The court affirmed the JMOL of noninfringement for the ’985 patent, holding that the continuous addition of sterilant could not be equivalent to the claim’s requirement of intermittent addition. The court also reversed the conditional grant of a new trial on noninfringement and vacated the conditional grant of a new trial on invalidity and damages, remanding for further proceedings.The main holdings were: reversing the JMOL of noninfringement for the ’591 and ’188 patents, affirming the JMOL of noninfringement for the ’985 patent, reversing the conditional grant of a new trial on noninfringement, and vacating the conditional grant of a new trial on invalidity and damages. View "STEUBEN FOODS, INC. v. SHIBUYA HOPPMANN CORPORATION " on Justia Law

Dr. Neena Biswas, a physician at the VA’s Dallas facility, alleged that the VA retaliated against her for whistleblowing by converting her appointment from permanent to temporary and subsequently terminating her employment. Dr. Biswas had made disclosures regarding the hiring process for the Chief of the Hospitalist Section, which she believed violated statutory requirements prioritizing U.S. citizens.The Merit Systems Protection Board (Board) found that Dr. Biswas’s disclosures were protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act and contributed to the VA’s actions. However, the Board denied her request for corrective action, concluding that the VA would have taken the same actions regardless of her disclosures. The Board determined that the VA had strong evidence supporting its personnel actions, including Dr. Biswas’s unprofessional and disruptive conduct, and that other similarly situated employees were treated similarly.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the Board’s decision, agreeing that the VA had clear and convincing evidence to support its actions. The court noted that Dr. Biswas’s conduct, including refusing patient assignments and sending inflammatory emails, justified the VA’s actions. The court also found that the Board’s error in considering Dr. Biswas’s emails to the VA Secretary as insubordination was harmless, as the decision was supported by other substantial evidence of her misconduct. The court concluded that the VA met its burden of proving it would have taken the same actions absent the whistleblowing. View "BISWAS v. DVA " on Justia Law

Lynk Labs, Inc. owns U.S. Patent No. 10,687,400, which relates to light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and LED drivers, specifically alternating current (AC) driven LEDs and LED circuits. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. filed a petition for inter partes review (IPR) challenging claims 7-20 of the '400 patent for obviousness. Lynk Labs disclaimed claims 14 and 18-20, leaving claims 7-13 and 15-17 in dispute. The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (Board) determined that claims 7-13 and 17 were unpatentable for obviousness based on prior art, including U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0206970 (Martin), which was filed before the '400 patent's priority date but published after.The Board found that Martin could serve as prior art under 35 U.S.C. § 102(e)(1), which allows a published patent application to be deemed prior art as of its filing date. The Board also determined that claims 15 and 16 were unpatentable based on other grounds not involving Martin. Lynk Labs appealed, arguing that Martin could not be prior art because it was published after the '400 patent's priority date and that the Board erred in its claim constructions.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the Board's decision. The court held that under § 102(e)(1), a published patent application can be deemed prior art as of its filing date, thus Martin was properly considered prior art. The court also upheld the Board's claim constructions, concluding that the term "a plurality of LEDs connected in series" includes both individual LEDs and groups of LEDs connected in series, and that "matches" in the context of the forward voltage limitation includes both equivalence and a rectified input AC voltage output that is less than the forward voltage of the LEDs. The court found substantial evidence supporting the Board's findings and affirmed the unpatentability of claims 7-13 and 17. View "LYNK LABS, INC. v. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. " on Justia Law

BearBox LLC and Austin Storms alleged that Lancium LLC and its co-founders, Michael T. McNamara and Dr. Raymond E. Cline, Jr., improperly used Storms' ideas and patented them. The dispute arose from a conversation at a Bitcoin mining conference and a follow-up email from Storms to McNamara containing BearBox's system details. BearBox claimed that Storms should be named as an inventor on Lancium's U.S. Patent No. 10,608,433.The United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted summary judgment to Lancium, dismissing BearBox's Louisiana state law conversion claim as preempted by federal patent law. The court also excluded BearBox's expert's supplemental report and denied BearBox's claim that Storms was either a sole or joint inventor of the '433 patent.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed the district court's judgment on all issues. It held that BearBox's conversion claim was preempted by federal patent law because it sought patent-like protection for unpatented technology. The court also upheld the exclusion of the expert's supplemental report, finding no abuse of discretion in the district court's decision. Finally, the court agreed with the district court's conclusion that BearBox failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that Storms was a sole or joint inventor of the '433 patent. The court found that the information Storms shared with Lancium did not establish his contribution to the claimed invention and that Lancium had independently conceived the subject matter of the patent before Storms' communication. View "BEARBOX LLC v. LANCIUM LLC " on Justia Law