Xitronix Corporation v. KLA-Tencor Corporation, dba KLA-Tencor, Inc.

In Walker Process Equipment, Inc. v. Food Machinery & Chemical Corp., 382 U.S. 172 (1965), this Court held that “the enforcement of a patent procured by fraud on the Patent Office may be violative of § 2 of the Sherman Act provided the other elements necessary to a § 2 case are present.” Id. at 174. Petitioner filed a Walker Process suit against Respondent, alleging that Respondent violated the antitrust laws by fraudulently obtaining a patent. After the District Court granted summary judgment to Respondent, Petitioner appealed. The Federal Circuit ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over the appeal, and transferred it to the Fifth Circuit. The Fifth Circuit then ruled that the Federal Circuit had exclusive jurisdiction over the appeal, and transferred it back to the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit then affirmed the District Court’s summary judgment decision, despite its own precedent holding that it lacked jurisdiction. The question presented is: Does appellate jurisdiction over Walker Process claims lie in the regional circuits, or in the Federal Circuit?