What is the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit? Review of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is one of 13 circuit courts of appeals in the United States federal court system and is located in Washington, D.C.

The CAFC was the latest of the 13 appellate courts and is also the most unique. Unlike the other 12 circuit courts of appeals, its jurisdiction is determined based on the subject matter of the case rather than geographical location.

The most familiar function of CAFC is to serve as the exclusive appellate court for patent confirmation and infringement litigation . It accepts appeals from the US Patent and Trademark Office on patent examination cases , US District Court (DCT) patent infringement cases , and " 337 investigation" cases from the US International Trade Commission (ITC). Since its establishment, about one-third of the cases heard by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit involve patents. Many important decisions of CAFC on patent cases have played an extremely important role in the development of the US patent system. However, the cases under the jurisdiction of CAFC are not limited to patents. Moreover, it is worth noting that CAFC does not have jurisdiction over copyright-related cases, which belong to the category of intellectual property.

Background

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was established in 1982. Prior to this, appeals from the United States Patent and Trademark Office were heard by the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals, and appeals from patent infringement cases in the United States district courts were heard by the appellate courts of the corresponding circuits (the 1st to 11th Circuit Courts of Appeals and the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals). However, on the one hand, in addition to legal issues, patent cases usually involve complex technical issues, requiring judges to have both technical and legal qualities, which ordinary courts do not have; on the other hand, different appellate courts may make different judgments for similar or even the same facts, and their judgments are not binding on each other, resulting in inconsistent trial standards and seriously affecting the predictability of judgments. In order to resolve these contradictions, the United States Congress passed the Federal Court Improvement Act in 1982. Based on this act, on October 1, 1982, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was established by merging the appellate departments of the original United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the United States Court of Claims.

jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the CAFC is generally governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1295. The CAFC hears appeals from all U.S. federal district courts and certain administrative agencies, as well as appeals based on certain statutory provisions. The CAFC has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals from:

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is unique among the 13 circuits in that it has nationwide jurisdiction over a variety of subject areas, including international trade, government contracts, patents, trademarks, certain money claims against the United States government, federal personnel, veterans' benefits, and public safety officer benefit claims.

Appeals to the Federal Circuit come from all federal district courts, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of International Trade, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

The Federal Circuit also reviews decisions of certain administrative agencies, including those from the United States Trademark Review and Adjudication Board, the Patent Appeals and Interferences Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Board of Contract Appeals, the Merit Systems Protection Board, the Congressional Compliance Office, the Government Accountability Office’s Board of Personnel Appeals, and the United States International Trade Commission.

The Federal Circuit does not have jurisdiction over any criminal, bankruptcy, immigration, or state matters. The Federal Circuit also cannot hear appeals of decisions of other U.S. appellate courts; appeals from other U.S. appellate courts go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Generally speaking, all appeals from any U.S. federal district court are heard by the CAFC as long as the original lawsuit contains a claim based on patent law. However, according to the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, if the patent claim is merely a counterclaim filed by the defendant, it does not necessarily have to be heard by the CAFC. However, although other appellate courts can theoretically hear patent counterclaims, in practice this does not often happen.

One of the unique features of the CAFC is that its decisions, especially those concerning patent cases, become binding precedents throughout the United States. This is different from the other 12 federal appellate courts, whose decisions only become binding precedents within the geographic areas they are responsible for. CAFC decisions can only be overturned by a decision of the United States Supreme Court or a relevant change in the statute. Since whether to review the CAFC's decision depends on the discretion of the United States Supreme Court, in practice, the CAFC's decision is final in most cases, especially since the CAFC has exclusive jurisdiction over relevant matters and there is no so-called "circuit split" (that is, the appellate courts in different circuits disagree on the interpretation of federal law).

Office Location

The offices of CCAFC are located in the Howard T. Markey NationalCourts Building, Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House, the former Cosmos Club and Cutts-Madison House in the District of Columbia. The court sometimes holds sessions outside of Washington. In addition, CAFC judges can also participate in cases in other federal appellate courts and federal district courts based on assignment. Because CAFC's jurisdiction extends throughout the United States, the court can hold collegial panels anywhere in the country. CAFC usually holds oral hearings in cities outside of Washington once or twice a year. Collegial panels can be located in federal courts, state courts, or even university law schools.

References

• 1. About CAFC: CAFC official website