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

Weekly Digest

Rule 36 Affirmance

Federal Circuit Rule 36 permits the court to enter a judgment of affirmance without a written opinion when it determines that an opinion would have no precedential value and the judgment below was correct on any of several stated grounds. The result is a one-line disposition: the judgment is affirmed, and the court gives no reasoning. Rule 36 affirmances resolve a substantial share of the Federal Circuit's patent docket and are frequently criticised for leaving litigants and the district courts without guidance. The documents collected here are those summary affirmances. They carry no analysis by design; what they establish is that the decision below survived appellate review.

418 opinions and orders, showing 1–200.