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

CloudofChange, LLC sued NCR Corporation, alleging infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,400,640 and 10,083,012, which disclose an online web-based point-of-sale (POS) builder system. The system allows non-expert business operators to assemble and manage POS systems. NCR's product, NCR Silver, was accused of infringing these patents. NCR Silver is a web-based POS solution that requires merchants to use their own internet connection and POS hardware, although NCR occasionally provides the hardware.The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas found that NCR's merchants' use of the system could be attributed to NCR under principles of vicarious liability and denied NCR's motion for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) of no direct infringement. The jury found NCR directly infringed the asserted claims, awarded CloudofChange $13.2 million in damages, and found NCR's infringement willful. NCR renewed its motion for JMOL, arguing that it did not use the claimed system as a matter of law, but the district court denied the motion.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and reversed the district court's denial of JMOL. The Federal Circuit held that it is NCR's merchants, not NCR, who use the claimed system by putting it into service and benefiting from it. The court also concluded that NCR is not vicariously liable for its merchants' use of the system, as NCR does not direct or control the merchants' actions in putting the system to use. Consequently, the Federal Circuit vacated the jury verdict and reversed the district court's decision. View "CLOUDOFCHANGE, LLC v. NCR CORPORATION " on Justia Law

In 2014, due to severe drought conditions, the United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) was unable to meet its water delivery obligations to both the Exchange Contractors and the Friant Contractors under the Central Valley Project (CVP). Reclamation prioritized delivering water to the Exchange Contractors, including water from the San Joaquin River, which resulted in a near-zero allocation to the Friant Contractors. The Friant Contractors and individual growers sued the United States, alleging breach of contract and takings without just compensation.The United States Court of Federal Claims dismissed the Friant Growers' breach of contract claims for lack of standing and dismissed the takings claims for lack of a property interest. The court granted summary judgment to the government on the Friant Contractors' breach of contract claims, concluding that the Exchange Contractors' rights under the Exchange Contract were superior and that Reclamation's actions were not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and affirmed the lower court's decision. The court held that the Exchange Contract allowed Reclamation to deliver San Joaquin River water to the Exchange Contractors when necessary, and that the government did not breach the Friant Contract by doing so. The court also found that the government was immune from liability under the Friant Contract because its actions were not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable. Finally, the court affirmed the dismissal of the takings claims, concluding that the Friant Contractors and Growers did not have a property interest in the water delivered by Reclamation under California law. View "CITY OF FRESNO v. US " on Justia Law

The United States Department of the Navy issued a solicitation requesting technical support for its electromagnetic spectrum resources, requiring proposals to be submitted via email by a specified deadline. eSimplicity, Inc. submitted its proposal before the deadline, but it was not received by the Contracting Officer due to the email exceeding the maximum file size and being bounced back. The Navy deemed eSimplicity's proposal untimely and did not consider it.eSimplicity filed a pre-award bid protest with the United States Court of Federal Claims. The Claims Court ruled in favor of eSimplicity, concluding that the file size was an unstated evaluation criterion and that the government control exception could apply to electronically submitted proposals. The court remanded the case for the Navy to reconsider its decision or to take other actions consistent with the court's opinion. Subsequently, the Navy issued an amended solicitation and awarded the contract to eSimplicity.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court determined that the appeal was moot because the original solicitation had expired, and the contract had been awarded under a new solicitation. The court found that there was no longer a live controversy, as the issues presented on appeal concerned the now-expired solicitation. The court also rejected the government's argument that the case fell under the "capable of repetition yet evading review" exception to mootness, noting that the government had other opportunities to appeal similar issues in the past but chose not to do so. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed. View "ESIMPLICITY, INC. v. US " on Justia Law

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PAN) petitioned for inter partes review (IPR) of claims 1–18 of Centripetal Networks, LLC’s U.S. Patent No. 10,530,903, asserting that the claims were unpatentable for obviousness based on three prior-art references. The United States Patent and Trademark Office Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) concluded that PAN had not established by a preponderance of the evidence that the claims would have been obvious over the relevant prior art combination.The Board found that PAN’s argument regarding the motivation to combine the references was not sufficiently articulated in the petition. Specifically, the Board determined that PAN had not provided sufficient evidence to show that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify Paxton’s computing system to include Sutton’s step of transmitting a notification of malicious activity after Paxton’s correlation step. The Board concluded that PAN had not established that the claims would have been obvious.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and found that the Board erred by failing to clearly explain its holding or rationale regarding the motivation to combine and whether the proposed combination teaches the final limitation of claim 1. The court noted that the Board did not make a clear finding on whether a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to modify Paxton by adding Sutton’s step of transmitting a notification of malicious activity after Paxton’s correlation step. The court vacated the Board’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings to clarify and explain its holding on the motivation to combine the references. View "PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC. v. CENTRIPETAL NETWORKS, LLC " on Justia Law

The case involves a dispute between the municipality of Anchorage and the United States regarding two agreements related to the improvement of the Port of Alaska. In 2003, Anchorage and the United States, through the Maritime Administration (MARAD), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (2003 Memorandum) to upgrade and expand the port. In 2011, they signed a Memorandum of Agreement (2011 Memorandum) to address issues that arose during the project, including large-scale damage discovered in 2010.The United States Court of Federal Claims held that the United States breached the 2003 Memorandum by failing to deliver a defect-free port and the 2011 Memorandum by settling subcontractor claims without consulting Anchorage. The court awarded Anchorage $367,446,809 in damages, including $11,279,059 related to the settlement of subcontractor claims.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court found that the 2003 Memorandum did not require the United States to deliver a defect-free port, as it lacked specific terms such as what was to be built, where, dimensions, deadlines, and costs. The court vacated the Court of Federal Claims' decision regarding the 2003 Memorandum and remanded for further proceedings.However, the Federal Circuit affirmed the Court of Federal Claims' decision that the United States breached the 2011 Memorandum by settling subcontractor claims without conferring with Anchorage. The court upheld the award of $11,279,059 in damages to Anchorage for this breach. The case was vacated in part, affirmed in part, and remanded for further consideration consistent with the Federal Circuit's opinion. View "ANCHORAGE v. US " on Justia Law

Malcolm Pipes, a former reservist in the United States Air Force, sought disability-retirement pay and benefits after suffering a stroke while participating in the Air Force’s Self-paced Fitness Improvement Program (SFIP). Pipes argued that he was in inactive-duty training (IDT) status at the time of his injury, which would entitle him to the benefits under 10 U.S.C. § 1204. The Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records (AFBCMR) and the United States Court of Federal Claims (Claims Court) previously denied his claim, leading to this appeal.In the first appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the lower court's decision, holding that Pipes was in a duty status when ordered to participate in the SFIP. However, the court did not address whether Pipes was in IDT status when performing the SFIP. On remand, the AFBCMR and the Claims Court again denied relief, concluding that Pipes did not have the necessary advance authorization for IDT status as required by Air Force Manual (AFMAN) 36-8001.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and upheld the Claims Court's decision. The court found that the AFMAN applies to all IDT and requires advance authorization for such status. Pipes failed to provide evidence of receiving this authorization. The court also rejected Pipes's argument that the lawful order to participate in the SFIP automatically placed him in IDT status. The court noted that the Department of Veterans Affairs' grant of service connection for Pipes's stroke did not impact the determination of his duty status under the AFMAN.The court affirmed the Claims Court's judgment, concluding that the AFBCMR's decision was not arbitrary, capricious, contrary to law, or unsupported by substantial evidence. View "PIPES v. US " on Justia Law

Meyer Corporation, U.S. (Meyer) imported cookware manufactured in Thailand and China, which was sold to distributors in Macau and Hong Kong before being imported to the U.S. Meyer requested that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Customs) value the cookware based on the first-sale price paid by the distributors to the manufacturers. Customs rejected this request and assessed duties based on the second-sale price Meyer paid to the distributors. Meyer protested and appealed to the Court of International Trade.The Court of International Trade affirmed Customs' decision, holding that Meyer failed to prove the first-sale prices were free of market-distortive influences, particularly due to the lack of financial documents from Meyer’s parent company, Meyer International Holdings, Ltd. (Meyer Holdings). Meyer appealed, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded, instructing the trial court to reconsider without imposing requirements beyond the statute and regulations.On remand, the trial court again held that Meyer could not rely on the first-sale price, citing Meyer’s failure to produce Meyer Holdings' financial documents as dispositive. The trial court presumed that the absence of these documents indicated potential market-distortive influences.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case and found that the trial court improperly applied an evidentiary presumption against Meyer and failed to address other record evidence. The appellate court vacated the trial court's decision and remanded the case for reconsideration of whether Meyer may rely on the first-sale price, instructing the trial court to evaluate the extensive record without relying on speculative adverse inferences. The appellate court did not address Meyer’s argument regarding the interpretation of "the firm" in the relevant regulation, as the trial court's decision did not hinge on this interpretation. View "Meyer Corp., U.S. v. United States" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, a group of companies, sought refunds for H-1B visa petitions they filed on behalf of their foreign national employees who were already in the United States under a different nonimmigrant classification. They argued that the enhanced fees imposed by the government for these petitions were not applicable to change of status petitions, which involve nonimmigrants already in the U.S.The United States Court of Federal Claims granted summary judgment in favor of the government, rejecting the plaintiffs' argument. The court found that the statutory language did not exclude change of status petitions from the enhanced fees. The court interpreted the phrase "application for admission as a nonimmigrant under [H-1B], including an application for an extension of such status" to include change of status petitions, as these petitions are a sub-category of initial grant petitions.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 statutory language "an application for admission as a nonimmigrant under [H-1B], including an application for an extension of such status" does not exclude change of status petitions. The court reasoned that a strict application of the statutory definitions would render part of the statute meaningless and that the ordinary meaning of the phrase includes change of status petitions. The court also noted that this interpretation aligns with longstanding USCIS practice and the legislative intent behind the statute. As a result, the plaintiffs' claim for a refund was denied, and the government's imposition of the enhanced fees was upheld. View "Itserve Alliance, Inc. v. United States" on Justia Law

Crown Packaging Technology, Inc. and CarnaudMetalbox Engineering Ltd. (collectively, “Crown”) sued Belvac Production Machinery, Inc. (“Belvac”) for infringing claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 9,308,570, 9,968,982, and 10,751,784, which relate to necking machines used in manufacturing metal beverage cans. Belvac argued that the patents were invalid under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) because a necking machine embodying the invention was on sale in the U.S. before the critical date. Both parties sought summary judgment on this issue.The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia granted summary judgment to Crown, ruling that the patents were not invalid under the on-sale bar, and denied Belvac’s motion. After a jury trial, the court entered a judgment that the asserted claims were not invalid and not infringed. Crown appealed the noninfringement judgment, and Belvac appealed the no invalidity judgment.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court held that the letter sent by Crown to Complete Packaging Machinery constituted a commercial offer for sale in the U.S. before the critical date, thus invalidating the patents under § 102(b). The court reversed the district court’s summary judgment in favor of Crown and remanded for entry of judgment in Belvac’s favor. The court did not address the issue of infringement due to the invalidity finding. View "Crown Packaging Technology, Inc. v. Belvac Production Machinery, Inc." on Justia Law

Risen Energy Co., Ltd. (Risen), a Chinese exporter of solar cells, was subject to an antidumping order by the Department of Commerce (Commerce). In the Sixth Administrative Review, Commerce used surrogate values from Malaysia to calculate normal values for Risen's products. Risen challenged Commerce's surrogate value calculations for its backsheet and ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) inputs, as well as the overhead ratio calculation.The United States Court of International Trade (Trade Court) initially found Commerce's surrogate value calculations for Risen's backsheet and EVA inputs unsupported by substantial evidence and remanded the matter for further explanation. Commerce then provided additional evidence from ASTM standards to support its choice of HTS categories for these inputs, which the Trade Court sustained. However, the Trade Court upheld Commerce's surrogate financial ratio calculation for overhead despite some reservations about Commerce's rationale.The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reviewed the case. The court affirmed Commerce's use of the HTS categories for "sheet" to value Risen's backsheet and EVA inputs, finding the decision supported by substantial evidence. However, the court found Commerce's surrogate overhead ratio calculation unsupported by substantial evidence. The court noted that Commerce's reliance on the Hanwha financial statement and the IFRS standard was unclear and speculative.The Federal Circuit affirmed the Trade Court's decision regarding the surrogate value calculations for backsheet and EVA inputs but vacated the decision on the surrogate overhead ratio calculation. The case was remanded to Commerce for further proceedings to provide substantial evidence for its overhead calculation. View "Risen Energy Co., LTD. v. United States" on Justia Law