Whether Administrative Patent Judges are principal Officers under the Appointments Clause

QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Whether Administrative Patent Judges of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“Board”) are principal Officers of the United States who must be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate under the Appointments Clause. 2. Whether retroactive application of Covered Business Method Review to patents on inventions disclosed before passage of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. 3. Whether undisputed evidence that a patented invention is not unduly preemptive, presented to technically proficient judges of the Board, is relevant to the question whether the invention is patent-eligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101.