Fresh From the Bench: Latest Precedential Patent Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

Optis Cellular Technology, LLC v. Apple Inc., Appeal Nos. 2022-1904, -1925 (Fed. Cir. June 16, 2025)

In this week’s Case of the Week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit vacated a jury decision awarding $300,000,000 in damages against Apple, Inc. for infringement of patents essential to practicing the Long-Term Evolution (“LTE”) standard, a global standard for telecommunications devices.  The Court’s decision turned largely on the propriety of a jury instruction querying whether Apple had infringed “any of the asserted claims”—which was held to be improper—and also addressed questions of, inter alia, patent eligibility, claim construction, indefiniteness, and damages in the standards licensing context.

READ MORE

ALSO THIS WEEK

Realtek Semiconductor Corporation v. International Trade Commission, Appeal No. 2023-1187 (Fed. Cir. June 18, 2025)

The Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal from an International Trade Commission (“ITC”) decision declining to impose sanctions on a Section 337 complainant, holding that it lacked jurisdiction to review ITC orders not affecting any determination on the merits.  Appellant Realtek sought sanctions from complainant Future Link Systems, LLC, after learning that Future Link had entered into a third-party license agreement under which it had undertaken to file a lawsuit against Realtek.  Future Link voluntarily dismissed its Section 337 complaint shortly after filing, the assigned administrative law judge declined Realtek’s request for sanctions, and the Commission adopted the ALJ’s decision.  On review, the Court explained that its appellate jurisdiction was circumscribed by 19 U.S.C. § 1337(c), which provided for Federal Circuit review of final determinations under § 1337(d), (e), (f), or (g), but not sanctions decisions under subsection (h).  The Federal Circuit also lacked ancillary jurisdiction because the decision had not affected any reviewable determination.  However, § 1337(c) expressly provides that subjection (h) determinations are reviewable under the Administrative Procedures Act, and the panel suggested (without deciding) that Realtek’s petition for review could potentially be heard by a federal district court.

The opinion can be found here.

Ancora Technologies, Inc. v. Roku, Inc., Appeal Nos. 2023-1674, -1701 (Fed. Cir. June 16, 2025)

Also this week, the Federal Circuit vacated an obviousness finding by the Board, finding that the Board’s obviousness analysis did not give sufficient weight to license agreements involving the patent at issue...

READ MORE