The U.S. Judiciary keeps track of complaints filed against federal judges. During the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2014, six judicial complaints were filed against judges under the administration of the Federal Circuit — the lowest number of complaints for any of the federal judicial circuits. [Chart].
Archive for April, 2015
Federal Circuit Ranks Lowest Among Circuit Courts in Regard to Judicial Complaints
Thursday, April 30th, 2015Quote of the day
Monday, April 27th, 2015The Court has accordingly modified the standard by which lower courts examine allegedly ambiguous claims; we may now steer by the bright star of “reasonable certainty,” rather than the unreliable compass of “insoluble ambiguity.”
Judge Wallach writing for the Federal Circuit in Biosig Instruments, Inc. v. Nautilus, Inc., ___ F. 3d ___ (Fed. Cir. 2015) and contrasting the Supreme Court’s new standard with the Federal Circuit’s old standard for indefiniteness.
Ouch.
Appeals from the PTO to the Federal Circuit Up Significantly
Thursday, April 23rd, 2015
The PTO statistics page shows the dramatic uptick in appeals to the Federal Circuit from the USPTO in recent years. In the last couple of years, the number of appeals from the PTO has more than doubled. There were 103 pending appeals from the PTO in February of 2013 compared to 231 in February of 2015. (Click on the chart for a higher resolution view)
The USPTO Solicitor’s Office has also grown. It now numbers 34 attorneys.
Oral argument of the week: Shinnecock Indian Nation v. U.S.
Thursday, April 16th, 2015I find the concept of “judicial takings” and patent law to be pretty interesting. I posted about this previously [here]. The Federal Circuit recently decided Shinnecock Indian Nation v. U.S. which is tangentially related to judicial takings, although not in the realm of patent law. During the oral argument, the Supreme Court’s plurality opinion from Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 560 U.S. ___ (2010) is discussed — although that opinion is ultimately not mentioned in the Shinnecock decision.
You can listen to the oral argument [here].
The opinion is available [here].
Judge Gilstrap Sitting by Designation
Wednesday, April 8th, 2015US District Judge Rodney Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas is sitting by designation with the Federal Circuit this month. This marks two months in a row that the Federal Circuit has hosted visiting judges.
Thought for the day
Tuesday, April 7th, 2015Whether you are a patent prosecutor trying to overcome a tough rejection or a patent litigator trying to argue that a problem was readily solved, I think you’ll relate to the quote:
“No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking.”
–Voltaire
Patently-O Turns Eleven
Monday, April 6th, 2015Happy Birthday to Patently-O! I think it turned eleven today. That was a quick eleven years.