Federal Circuit Faces Pressure From Four Directions in New Year

The U.S. Supreme Court, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, federal district courts, and Congress all will have eyes on the Federal Circuit in 2021.

The Supreme Court will review a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decision about administrative patent judges, the board is testing the limits of its own discretion to make procedural rules, and a trial court in Texas is actively attracting patent cases. Then there’s Congress, which may consider making changes to patent law.

The Federal Circuit “is now the hub of a lot of different pressures coming” from those four directions, according to ...