Oral Argument Kappos v. Hyatt

The oral argument in Kappos v. Hyatt is scheduled for next Monday, January 9th, at the Supreme Court of the United States.  The issues to be considered are:

(1) Can a plaintiff, who is appealing the denial of an application of a patent by commencing a civil action against the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in a federal district court pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 145, introduce new evidence that could have been presented to the agency in the first instance?

(2) When new evidence is introduced under Section 145, can the district court decide de novo the factual questions to which the evidence pertains, without giving deference to the prior decision of the PTO?

The en banc Federal Circuit decision is available [here].

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