ALEXANDRIA, VA  –  The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF)  has joined fellow property rights advocates, including Conservatives for Property Rights, the Innovation Alliance, The Small Business Technology Counsel and The Alliance of U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs, in filing an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the case of Chrimar Systems, Inc. v. ALE USA, Inc. 

In this case, a patent owner won a jury trial and final judgment in favor of its claim, which was improperly overturned by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) administrative tribunal, and unjustly relitigated to the detriment of the patent holder.  The amici therefore seek en banc appellate review and reversal in a manner consistent with applicable law across other circuit courts.

For years, CFIF has enthusiastically defended America’s legacy of intellectual property (IP) protections, including patent rights.  Our Founding Fathers considered IP and patent rights so vital that they explicitly protected them in the text of Article I of the Constitution.  As a result, America stands unrivaled as the most inventive, prosperous and powerful nation in human history.  That’s a direct consequence of the fact that the U.S. protects IP and patent rights more strongly than any other nation. 

Unfortunately, recent years have witnessed slippage in America’s worldwide ranking of patent protections.  That sudden and alarming decline is explained in large part by Obama Administration changes to our patent system, such as the creation of the PTAB, which eliminates at least one patent in 80% of petitions that it adjudicates.  Judicial branch rulings have weakened patent enforcement and interpretation of federal laws.  Combined, those changes have eroded the certainty and property protection that made our patent system the best in the world. 

This case fits squarely into that unfortunate dynamic, as the PTAB overturned a jury verdict, which is why CFIF has joined other pro-IP organizations in filing for en banc rehearing.  As our brief states, the ruling at issue in this matter, if allowed to stand, "makes patent property holders and district courts uniquely beholden to judges in administrative agencies" like the PTAB. 

To read the brief, click here.

CFIF is a constitutional and free market advocacy organization with over 300,000 supporters and activists nationwide. 

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