Patent opinions from the Eastern District of Texas and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Weekly Digest
Fed. Cir.

Cornell D.M. Judge Cornish v. Kappos, No. 10-1433 (Fed. Cir. June 13, 2011)

Dismissed
Court
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Case No.
No. 10-1433
Decided
June 13, 2011
Judge
Per curiam
Document
Nonprecedential Opinion
Length
3 pages

NOTE: This disposition is nonprecedential. United States Court of Appeals

for the Federal Circuit

CORNELL D.M. JUDGE CORNISH,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

DAVID J. KAPPOS, UNDER SECRETARY OF COM-

MERCE FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND

DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES PATENT

AND TRADEMARK OFFICE,

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK

OFFICE,

HARRY I. MOATZ, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF

ENROLLMENT AND DISCIPLINE, AND WILLIAM J.

GRIFFIN, STAFF ATTORNEY, OFFICE OF

ENROLLMENT AND DISCIPLINE,

Defendants-Appellees.

2010-1433

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia in case No. 07-CV-1719, Judge Richard W. Roberts.

Decided: June 13, 2011

2CORNISH v. KAPPOS 2

CORNELL D.M. JUDGE CORNISH, of Washington, DC, pro se.

RAYMOND T. CHEN, Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor, United States Patent and Trademark Office, of Alexandria, Virginia, for defendants-appellees. With him on the brief were RONALD K. JAICKS and SYDNEY O. JOHNSON, JR., Associate Solicitors.

Before PROST, MOORE and O’MALLEY, Circuit Judges.

Cornell D.M. Judge Cornish (Mr. Cornish) appeals the United States District Court for the District of Columbia’s January 21, 2010 and March 8, 2010 orders denying him temporary reinstatement to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) roster of active registered practitioners pending resolution of his lawsuit. Mr. Cornish filed his Notice of Appeal on March 22, 2010. During the pendency of this appeal, the district court granted the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment regarding some of Mr. Cornish’s claims and dismissed Mr. Cornish’s remaining claims. Cornish v. Dudas, 715 F. Supp. 2d 56 (D.D.C. 2010). The district court entered final judgment against Mr. Cornish, which Mr. Cornish has separately appealed. Cornish v. Kappos (Appeal No. 2011-1041).

In light of the district court’s entry of final judgment in the underlying action, Mr. Cornish’s interlocutory appeal of the district court’s denial of his requests for injunctive relief pending the resolution of his lawsuit is moot. See Harper v. Poway Unified Sch. Dist., 549 U.S. 1262 (2007); see also Fundicao Tupy v. United States, 841 F.2d 1101, 1103 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (dismissing an interlocu-33 CORNISH v. KAPPOS

tory appeal of the Court of International Trade’s denial of injunctive relief because intervening final decision rendered the interlocutory appeal moot). Because Mr. Cornish’s lawsuit is no longer “pending resolution” before the district court, “[t]here is no longer any need to preserve the trial court’s power to provide an effective remedy on the merits, which is the purpose of a preliminary injunction.” Fundicao Tupy, 841 F.2d at 1103. In conclusion, we must dismiss Mr. Cornish’s interlocutory appeal, because the entry of final judgment has rendered it moot. In light of this dismissal, all of Mr. Cornish’s outstanding motions filed in this appeal are likewise moot.

DISMISSED

COSTS

No costs.

Text extracted from the official PDF and reflowed for reading. It is not a certified transcript — the PDF linked above is the authoritative document.

Analysis is coming soon.

A plain-English account of the issues, facts and holding, written by Patent Case Watch. The opinion itself — its full text, its PDF and everything else on this page — stays free to read for everyone, always.

Cite this opinion

Cornell D.M. Judge Cornish v. Kappos, No. 10-1433 (Fed. Cir. June 13, 2011).

Record ID
CAFC-10-1433-20110613
Permalink
https://patentcasewatch.com/opinions/CAFC-10-1433-20110613

No reporter citation is shown because the official source does not supply one; none is inferred here. Check the opinion and a citator before relying on this form.