Correspondent
White House correspondent, covers patent, trade and regulatory news
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the denial of Federal Employees Retirement System disability retirement benefits to a former FBI employee. The court held that an employee's inability to commute to work is not a factor in determining whether they are disabled under the relevant statute.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court judgment granting judgment as a matter of law of noninfringement in a patent dispute over commercial-skipping technology. The court held that the evidence did not support a finding that the defendants directly disabled navigation objects or contained required configuration identifiers within individual navigation objects as required by the patents.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed an appeal because the appellant failed to file specific objections to a magistrate judge's recommendation. The court held that the appellant forfeited the right to appellate review of the summary judgment order.
The Eleventh Circuit reversed the dismissal of tortious interference claims, holding that federal common law does not govern the interpretation of forum-selection clauses in contracts governed by foreign law. The court ruled that the scope of such clauses must be determined under the substantive law of the contract, which in this case was Slovenian law.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit dismissed an appeal challenging the denial of a temporary restraining order. The panel held that the denial did not meet the jurisdictional requirements for interlocutory review.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted a motion to remand a Merit Systems Protection Board case for reconsideration. The court determined that allowing the agency to reconsider its previous position would preserve party and judicial resources.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed a preliminary injunction against defendants in a trademark infringement dispute. The court held that defendants' initial use of the marks inured to the benefit of the plaintiffs because they were operating under a valid licensing agreement at the time.
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reversed the dismissal of defamation and false light claims against the National Academy of Sciences. The court affirmed the dismissal of a separate defamation by implication claim while remanding the case for further proceedings on the remaining counts.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the Tax Court's denial of motions to seal documents containing taxpayer return information. The court held that the transactional relationship exception to confidentiality rules applied because the disputed facts were undisputed and the documents directly related to the resolution of the tax proceedings.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated the district court's judgment on trade secret damages and remanded for a new trial. The court reversed the reduction of breach of contract damages and reinstated the jury award.
