Patent Forecast 2017: Will Patent Courts Be Great Again? Patent Forecast 2017: Will Patent Courts Be Great Again?
By Peter Harter & Gene Quinn January 8, 2017 In the first quarter of 2017 we will see the Senate Judiciary Committee hold hearings and vote on Trump’s nominee to be US Attorney General. That’s US Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), a member of the Judiciary Committee. He’s been active on patent reform issues such as ending carve outs for special interests seeking to invalidate or reinstitute patents through company and patent specific legislation. And Sessions has voted on judges nominated to the bench including the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
If all current Federal Circuit judges eligible elected their senior status, then Trump would be able to nominate six judges right now. He would have to wait until his second term to nominate a seventh. While it seems unlikely that all would elect senior status en mass, the potential for Trump to place his mark on the Federal Circuit is real.
There are over 100 open seats on the federal bench, double the number Bush’43 left Obama eight years ago. Since Federal Circuit judges do not require support from home state Senators like other judicial nominees, a patent savvy AG may be able to have a greater impact. Usually the bipartisan nature of patent issues saves this sole patent appeals court from the painful delays and workload issues other courts endure due to Congressional gridlock and to an executive slow to nominate.
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https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2017/01/08/patent-forecast-2017-patent-courts-great/id=76050/