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Drew Hirshfeld, Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director, United States Patent and Trademark Office v. Implicit, LLC, et al.

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2020-1173, 2020-1174

GVR'd · October 18, 2021
Pre-decision estimate: 33% cert probability (95% interval 21%–49%)

Before the decision, about 8.1× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for a federal-government petitioner and counsel who has won certiorari before, and down for a business respondent.

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.

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Brian H. Fletcher
Acting Solicitor General

For respondent
Debra J. McComas
Haynes & Boone, LLP

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Proceedings

  1. Nov 19 2021
    JUDGMENT ISSUED.
  2. Oct 18 2021
    Petition GRANTED. Judgment VACATED and case REMANDED for further consideration in light of United States v. Arthrex, Inc., 594 U. S. ___ (2021).
  3. Sep 29 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/15/2021.
  4. Sep 10 2021
    Response from respondents Implicit, LLC, et al. filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  5. Aug 11 2021
    Response Requested. (Due September 10, 2021)
  6. Jul 14 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  7. Jun 21 2021
    Brief of respondent Apple Inc. in support filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceOther
  8. May 21 2021
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due June 21, 2021)
    PetitionAppendixProof of Service