Administration Seeks Full-Court Review of Patent Judge Case (1)

The Trump administration has asked the full Federal Circuit to reconsider a panel’s finding that administrative patent judges were unconstitutionally appointed, a decision that’s prompted criticism from lawmakers and concern from practitioners.

The three-judge panel in Arthrex Inc. v. Smith and Nephew, Inc. made “several important legal errors, and the serious consequences of those errors call for the full Court’s review,” the Department of Justice and the Patent and Trademark Office said Dec. 16 in its en banc petition.

“Each of these issues—the underlying Appointments Clause question, the propriety of entertaining a forfeited challenge, and the proper remedy ...