Whether Federal Circuit Rule 36 violates 35 U.S.C. § 144 by allowing affirmance without opinion when reviewing Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions

Whether Federal Circuit Rule 36, which allows the United States Court of Appeals for the Fede ral Circuit to issue an affirmance without opinion when reviewing a decision of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) violates the requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 144, which requires that the Federal Circuit issue an “opinion” when reviewing a PTO decision.