Topic
Every decision we've filed under Civil.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's rejection of a patent application for a cleated athletic shoe as obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103. The court held that the claimed design, which features a concave depression to facilitate foot movement during exercise, was an unpatentable combination of prior-art references.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds for prison officers accused of excessive force. The court held that if a prisoner proves they were beaten while handcuffed and subdued, the officers violated clearly established law.
The Ninth Circuit granted a petition for review and remanded a Board of Immigration Appeals decision denying asylum and withholding of removal. The court found the agency materially misstated the record regarding the petitioner's release from detention and his subsequent hiding.
The Federal Circuit reversed the district court's exclusion of a patent damages expert report, ruling that the lower court misapplied precedent regarding royalty bases. The court held that using unaccused virtual machines as a royalty base was permissible where a causal connection existed between the patented technology and the increased capacity of those machines.
The Third Circuit reversed the District Court's grant of summary judgment, predicting that the New Jersey Supreme Court would invalidate the state's 'Background Circumstances Rule' for employment discrimination claims. The court held that the rule, which imposes a heightened burden on majority-group plaintiffs, is incompatible with the text of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has issued an opinion in the case of Samar Akins versus Sysco Lincoln Inc. Judgment has been entered in accordance with the court's decision.
The Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's judgment of no infringement, holding that patent claims listing elements separately require distinct physical structures. The court also upheld the construction of a term as means-plus-function, limiting the patent scope to specific disclosed structures that the accused device did not possess.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. The court issued a per curiam judgment without providing a written opinion.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal due to the appellant's failure to pay the required docketing fee. The court ruled that this failure to prosecute constituted a procedural default under Federal Circuit Rule fifty-two.
The Seventh Circuit vacated a district court ruling that granted partial summary judgment to a plaintiff regarding a warrantless home entry, finding that unresolved factual disputes precluded a legal determination on qualified immunity. The appellate court remanded the case for the district court to resolve key factual issues and ensure both prongs of the qualified immunity test are addressed.