Panel: Judges Taranto, Chen, and Stoll, with
Judge Chen writing the opinion
You should read this case if: you want to
better understand the preclusive effect (or lack thereof) of
contingent findings and alternative holdings.
In this week's featured case, the Federal Circuit resolved
an interesting case where a patent-owner appellant appealed a
district court judgment holding its patent claims invalid but asked
the Federal Circuit to affirm invalidity. That perhaps surprising
situation arose because the district court's opinion supporting
its judgment appeared to address multiple invalidity grounds, and
the patent owner was seeking to protect against potential
preclusive effects of some of those grounds. Ultimately, though,