Patently-O Bits and Bytes No. 46: Supreme Court Edition

  • In re Nuijten: The applicant has filed a petition for certiorari to overturn the Federal Circuit’s decision that a man made signal is not patentable.  Professor Duffy filed a ‘law professor’ amicus supporting the position which I signed. We argue that the CAFCs Nuijten decision improperly creates a new subject matter exclusion of transitory inventions that cannot be perceived without special equipment.  The AIPLA also filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to hear the case. [Law Professor Brief][AiplaNuijten (119 KB)]. Judge Linn’s dissent in the Nuijten decision may well serve as an additional amicus.
  • Biomedical Patent Management v. California: This case challenges California’s claims to 11th Amendment Soveriegnty based in part on the state’s increased involvement in the business of patenting and commercialization. The Supreme Court is awaiting views from the US Solicitor General on whether the US recommends grant of certiorari.   
  • Translogic v. Dudas: In this case, Translogic asks the Supreme Court to invalidate a BPAI opinion based on the unconstitutional appointment of BPAI judges. In a recent study, I showed that 83% of recent BPAI decisions included at least one judge appointed by the PTO Director rather than the constitutional required “head of department.”  Translogic has several procedural hurdles.
  • Calmar v. Arminak: The design patent holder asked the Supreme Court to reverse the Federal Circuit’s application of the “ordinary observer” test that improperly excludes the most natural ordinary observer – a retail customer. On June 9, the Supreme Court Denied certiorari.