Abstract
In the nearly thirty years since the Federal Circuit's first published decision, the court has decided numerous cases that have produced a rich patent jurisprudence. This Article seeks to evaluate that jurisprudence from several perspectives. Part II summarizes the Federal Circuit's patent history in terms of the court's judges, the external factors that have shaped its patent jurisprudence, and the overall success of the court in light of Congress's intent. Part III then evaluates the Federal Circuit's general stance on whether to uphold the PTO's grant or denial of a patent, or a district court's decision to invalidate a patent, with respect to several specific patent law issues, including claim construction. Finally, Part IV analyzes the Federal Circuit's relationship with the U.S. Supreme Court and examines the attention that the Court has given to patent cases throughout the Federal Circuit's existence based on the number of certiorari petitions granted, as well as the Court's treatment of the Federal Circuit's opinions with respect to their outcomes and reasoning. In sum, this Article canvasses the Federal Circuit's patent decisions from several angles to paint a comprehensive picture of the court's patent jurisprudence during the first three decades of its existence.
Recommended Citation
Damon C. Andrews,
Promoting the Progress: Three Decades of Patent Jurisprudence in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit,
76 Mo. L. Rev.
(2011)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol76/iss3/10