2023 saw a return to business as usual for the Federal Circuit. Oral arguments are once again in-person and open to the public, and the Court has resumed its former practice of holding occasional sittings outside of Washington, D.C.

Turning to the statistics, the number of appeals from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) held steady from 2022, as did appeals originating from district court patent cases. Pendency for Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) appeals increased for a second consecutive year, to a new all-time high of approximately 17 months.

We have chosen a mix of cases from 2023 dealing with topics like claim construction, obviousness, and the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act. This year’s edition expands our coverage beyond patent law to include trademark cases as well. We also discuss the Federal Circuit’s currently pending en banc case in LKQ v. General Motors, which concerns the obviousness standard applicable to design patents. And our review kicks off with an analysis of the Supreme Court’s latest foray into patent law—last year’s Amgen v. Sanofi decision on enablement.