Patent investment requirements
Apple v. International Trade Commission
In brief
- Where it stands
- Petition Pending
Awaiting an order on the petition
- What it’s about
- Apple asks the Supreme Court to review the Federal Circuit’s decision upholding an import ban on Apple Watches with pulse-oximetry features.
- What's at stake
- Apple is seeking review of the appeals court ruling that upheld the import ban; the Supreme Court has not ruled on that request.
Summary: written with AI from the case record.
What it's about
Apple argues that the appeals court wrongly let a patent owner count research-and-development spending under a category for other investments and relied on a reason the International Trade Commission had not given.
The petition challenges how the International Trade Commission counted a patent owner's investment to meet the domestic-industry requirement and whether the appeals court relied on a reason the agency did not give.
Question presented
1. Whether a patentee fails to establish “significant employment of labor or capital” “with respect to the articles protected by the patent” under 19 U.S.C. §1337(a)(3)(B) where the patentee’s investment falls into one of three uses listed only in §1337(a)(3)(C). 2. Whether the Federal Circuit’s affirmance of an agency decision where (1) the court’s rationale does not appear in the agency’s opinion and (2) the agency’s result was not required by law is contrary to SEC v. Chenery Corp. , 318 U.S. 80 (1943), and its progeny.
What happens next
The next step is for the Court to decide whether to hear the petition. No oral argument or decision window is set before review is granted.
Documents
Docket activity
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AI analysis generated: Case Briefing
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Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
New document added
Case data updated: documents, description, document_url, proceeding_type
Sources
Primary materials plus reporting. Best-effort analysis: this explainer relies on a mix of primary materials and trusted secondary sources. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.