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Difference between revisions of "USA patent courts and appeals"

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{{navbox}}This article describes which bodies handle appeals and disputes of patent validity in the [[USA]].
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{{navbox}}This article describes which bodies handle approval, rejection, and disputes of patent validity in the [[USA]].
  
 
* Patents are granted by the [[USPTO]]
 
* Patents are granted by the [[USPTO]]
* The first place you go to contest a patent's validity is the '''Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences''' or "'''BPAI'''"
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* Disputes can be taken to the USPTO's ''[[Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences]]'' (BPAI)
* To contest the BPAI's decision (check this: can you go to a state court?)
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* (To contest a BPAI decision - where?)
* To contest this ruling, the '''United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit''' (or "'''CAFC'''")
 
** When the CAFC hears a case '''en banc''', this means that all the judges participated, not just a subset; this is usually done for important cases where the CAFC wants to make a stable ruling
 
* To contest this, you can apply to the '''[[US Supreme Court|Supreme Court]]''' (or sometimes "'''SCOTUS'''")
 
* If they accept the case, they will rule on it with the highest authority of the USA
 
  
Examples of cases that went all the way to the Supreme Court are the [[Diamond v. Diehr (1981, USA)|Diamond v. Diehr]] case of 1981, and the [[Bilksi v. Kappos]] case of 2009.
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* When you sue someone for patent infringement, the validity of the patent can be called into question, and this litigation is in a District Court
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** When suing someone, you might also apply to the [[United States International Trade Commission|International Trade Commission]] to have imports of their products blocked
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* To contest this ruling, you go to the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit]] (CAFC)
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** When the CAFC hears a case '''en banc''', this means that all the judges participated, not just a subset; this is usually done for important cases where the CAFC wants to set a precedent
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* To contest the CAFC's ruling, you can apply to the '''[[US Supreme Court|Supreme Court]]''' (or sometimes "'''SCOTUS'''")
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** This is called applying for certiorari
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* If the Supreme Court grants certiorari, they will rule on it with the highest authority of the USA
  
 
==Related pages on {{SITENAME}}==
 
==Related pages on {{SITENAME}}==
  
* [[US Supreme Court]]
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* [[Case law in the USA]]
* [[US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit]]
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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* http://www.uspto.gov/go/dcom/bpai/index.html - The USPTO's BPAI
 
* http://www.uspto.gov/go/dcom/bpai/index.html - The USPTO's BPAI
* http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/
 
* http://www.supremecourtus.gov/
 
 
===Wikipedia articles===
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Federal_Circuit United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit]
 
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States Supreme Court of the United States]
 
  
  

Revision as of 08:37, 17 April 2010

This article describes which bodies handle approval, rejection, and disputes of patent validity in the USA.

  • When you sue someone for patent infringement, the validity of the patent can be called into question, and this litigation is in a District Court
  • To contest this ruling, you go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC)
    • When the CAFC hears a case en banc, this means that all the judges participated, not just a subset; this is usually done for important cases where the CAFC wants to set a precedent
  • To contest the CAFC's ruling, you can apply to the Supreme Court (or sometimes "SCOTUS")
    • This is called applying for certiorari
  • If the Supreme Court grants certiorari, they will rule on it with the highest authority of the USA

Related pages on ESP Wiki

External links