Bozeman Financial LLC v. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, et al.

In Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., 139 S. Ct. 1853 (2019), the Court held the Federal Government is not a “person” permitted to request post-issuance patent review under the America Invents Act (AIA), reversing the judgment of the Federal Circuit. The twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks (“the Banks”) are the “operating arms” of the Federal Reserve System, which is the central bank of the United States. Subsequent to this Court’s decision in Return Mail, the Federal Circuit held in this case that the Banks are “distinct” from the Federal Government, and therefore qualify as “persons” permitted to seek post-issuance review under the AIA. The question presented is: Whether the regional Federal Reserve Banks— the “operating arms” of the Federal Reserve System, which is the central bank of the United States—are “distinct” from the Federal Government, and qualify as “persons” permitted to seek post-issuance patent review under the America Invents Act, when the Federal Government may not under the Court’s holding in Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., 139 S. Ct. 1853 (2019).