No. 20-853

Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Fall Line Patents, LLC, et al.

Lower Court: Federal Circuit
Docketed: 2020-12-28
Status: GVR
Type: Paid
Response RequestedRelisted (3) Experienced Counsel
Tags: administrative-law administrative-patent-judges appointments-clause constitutional-interpretation department-head inferior-officers officer-status patent-office principal-officers separation-of-powers us-patent-and-trademark-office
Key Terms:
Trademark Patent Privacy
Latest Conference: 2021-06-24 (distributed 3 times)
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether administrative patent judges are principal officers or inferior officers under the Appointments Clause

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTION PRESENTED Whether, for purposes of the Appointments Clause, U.S. Const. Art. II, § 2, Cl. 2, administrative patent judges of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are principal officers who must be appointed by the President with the Senate’s advice and consent, or “inferior Officers” whose appointment Congress has permissibly vested in a department head. (I)

Docket Entries

2021-07-30
JUDGMENT ISSUED.
2021-06-28
Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of <i>United States</i> v. <i>Arthrex, Inc.</i>, 594 U. S. ___ (2021). Justice Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.
2021-06-21
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/24/2021.
2021-04-07
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/23/2021.
2021-03-22
Brief of respondent James Gelsin Marx in support submitted.
2021-03-19
Brief of respondent HemoSonics LLC filed.
2021-03-05
Brief of respondent Fall Line Patents, LLC in support filed.
2021-02-22
Response Requested. (Due March 24, 2021)
2021-02-10
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/26/2021.
2021-01-27
Brief of respondent Apple Inc. in support filed.
2020-12-23
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 27, 2021)

Attorneys

Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce For Intellectual Property and Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
Elizabeth B. PrelogarActing Solicitor General, Petitioner
Elizabeth B. PrelogarActing Solicitor General, Petitioner
Apple Inc.
Thomas Gregory SpranklingWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Respondent
Thomas Gregory SpranklingWilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, Respondent
Fall Line Patents, LLC
Matthew James AntonelliAntonelli, Harrington & Thompson LLP, Respondent
Matthew James AntonelliAntonelli, Harrington & Thompson LLP, Respondent
HemoSonics LLC
Nicole A. SaharskyMayer Brown LLP, Respondent
Nicole A. SaharskyMayer Brown LLP, Respondent
James Gelsin Marx
Edward Maughan CannonKnobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear LLP, Respondent
Edward Maughan CannonKnobbe, Martens, Olson & Bear LLP, Respondent