Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Micron Technology, Inc. v. North Star Innovations, Inc.
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2020-1295, 2020-1296, 2020-1297, 2020-1298, 2020-1299 · judgment March 30, 2020
Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.
Questions presented
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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 appointed in a department head.
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Whether the court of appeals erred by allowing a patent owner that did not present an Appointments Clause challenge to the agency, and that acquiesced in the appointment of the same administrative patent judges in a related matter, to nonetheless present such challenges on appeal.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Melanie Lynn Bostwick
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
For respondent
Edward Charles Flynn
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC
Proceedings
- Jun 28 2021Petition DENIED.
- Jun 21 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/24/2021.
- Jan 06 2021DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/22/2021.
- Jan 05 2021Reply of petitioner Micron Technology, Inc. filed. (Distributed)
- Dec 17 2020Brief of respondent North Star Innovations, Inc. in opposition filed.
- Nov 13 2020Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due December 17, 2020)