Patent Law and Innovation: The Creation, Operation and a Twenty-Year Assessment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Jan. 21, 2003 |
| Report Number |
RL31703 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
John R. Thomas, Resources, Science, and Industry Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
Summary:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ("Federal Circuit") is a specialized court with
exclusive appellate jurisdiction over patent appeals. Congress established the Federal Circuit in 1982
in order to promote predictability and uniformity in the patent law. Now that the Federal Circuit has
celebrated its twentieth anniversary, it is appropriate to consider the influence of the court upon
patent law and, more generally, the climate for innovative industry within the United States.
A number of commentators believe that the Federal Circuit has strengthened the economic,
legal and commercial significance of patents to U.S. industry. Â The Federal Circuit has
broadened
the subject matter which may be patented to include such innovations as computer software and
business methods. Some observers believe that in comparison to predecessor courts, the Federal
Circuit has also made it more difficult to show that a patent is invalid because its subject matter
would have been obvious in light of the state of the art. The Federal Circuit is also said to have both
decreased the showing a patent owner must make in order to obtain a preliminary injunction against
accused infringers and increased the monetary damages owed as a remedy for patent infringement.
The Federal Circuit has also attracted some negative commentary. Some commentators believe
that the concentration of patent cases in one court provides less chance for sound development of
the law through the contributions of many jurists. Because the Federal Circuit routinely encounters
patent law issues, the pace of "common law" development in the patent field may be accelerated as
compared to other fields, possibly leading to less legal certainty. The Federal Circuit has also been
described as a "booster" of the patent law with a jurisprudence that favors patent owners and takes
a restrictive view of antitrust principles.
Recent developments continue to shape the Federal Circuit. The 1998 report of the
Commission on Structural Alternatives for the Federal Courts of Appeals (known as the "White
Commission") did not recommend any immediate changes to the makeup of the Federal Circuit, but
it did suggest that the Federal Circuit may be able to assume jurisdiction over additional classes of
cases for which national uniformity is desired. The 2002 Supreme Court decision in Holmes
Group,
Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc. , appears to have limited the exclusive appellate
jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit in patent cases.
Continued experience with the Federal Circuit may provide insights on the possible benefits
of creating other specialized tribunals. Identification of the factors that make judicial specialization
desirable, as well as the impact of a specialized court upon the fields of law within its jurisdiction,
may guide future reforms to the federal judicial system.
This report will be updated as future developments require.
