Judicial Advocacy
AIPLA files amicus briefs in litigation that is important to its members, following a long tradition of judicial advocacy. Those briefs are accessible by clicking the relevant year of the case in the navigation column on the left side of this page.
The AIPLA Amicus Committee receives many requests from parties in litigation for the Association's amicus support, and the Committee screens and recommends to the Board of Directors the best cases for AIPLA to join and urge its positions on the cutting edge issues of the law. Although AIPLA welcomes the views of the parties to the dispute, the AIPLA amicus positions are the product of independent consideration by the Committee and the Board of Directors, based on the law and an their understanding of policy and legal questions in dispute.
Interested in Requesting AIPLA Consideration for Amicus Support?
For more information on how to request AIPLA's consideration for amicus support and to learn more about the process, please click HERE.
Learn More About the Amicus Committee Leadership
For information about the Amicus Committee and it's current leadership, please click HERE.
Click the tabs below to explore some of AIPLA's judicial advocacy:
Judicial Advocacy 2019
Judicial Advocacy 2018
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Mission Product Holdings, Inc. v. Tempnology, LLC, U.S., No. 17-1657, filed 12/17/2018.
December 17, 2018
A debtor-licensor’s “rejection” of a license agreement— which “constitutes a breach of such contract,” 11 U.S.C. § 365(g)—does not terminate those licensee rights that would survive the licensor’s breach under applicable non-bankruptcy law, AIPLA argued to the Supreme Court in a December 17, 2018 amicus brief. -
Return Mail, Inc. v. United States Postal Service, U.S., No. 17-1594, amicus brief supporting a petition for certiorari, filed 12/17/2018.
December 17, 2018
The Federal Circuit erroneously held that the government is a “person” under 35 U.S.C. §321(a) for purposes of petitioning the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to review the validity of a patent in a covered business method proceeding, AIPLA argued to the Supreme Court in a December 17, 2018 amicus brief. -
Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc., U.S., No. 17-1625, amicus brief on the merits supporting neither party, filed 11/19/2018.
December 6, 2018
AIPLA on November 19, 2018, argued in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court that awards of “full costs” under Section 505 of the Copyright Act are limited to categories that courts may tax as costs under 28 U.S.C. §1920 and order paid to witnesses under 28 U.S.C. §1821. -
Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., U.S., No. 17-1229, amicus brief on the merits supporting neither party, filed 9/4/2018.
September 4, 2018
The Federal Circuit erred in construing the on-sale provisions of 35 USC 102 by failing to recognize that a sale creates a prior art disclosure only if the sale makes the claimed invention “publicly available,” AIPLA argued in a September 4, 2018 amicus brief to the Supreme Court. -
Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., U.S., No. 17-1229, amicus brief supporting a petition for certiorari, filed 3/30/2018.
March 30, 2018
The Federal Circuit failed to give effect to a revision of the “on sale” doctrine made by the America Invents Act (AIA) which imposed a “public availability” requirement not only on the fact of an early sale but also on the subject matter of the sale, i.e., the “claimed invention,” according to an AIPLA amicus brief supporting a petition for Supreme Court review. -
Booking B.V. v. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, 4th Cir., No. 17-2459, amicus brief filed 3/19/2018.
March 19, 2018
The Patent and Trademark Office has incorrectly interpreted the Lanham Act as requiring an award of attorneys' fees, win or lose, to the agency in district court proceedings reviewing decisions of the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. -
WesternGeco LLC v. ION Geophysical Corp., U.S., No. 16-1011, amicus brief filed 3/5/2018.
March 5, 2018
A damages award for infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(f) should include foreign lost profits when the harm was proximately caused by domestic infringement, AIPLA argued in a Supreme Court brief filed March 5, 2018.
Judicial Advocacy 2017
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Nantkwest, Inc. v. Matal, Fed. Cir., No. 2016-1794, 11/22/2017.
November 22, 2017
Section 145 of the Patent Act, which permits disappointed patent applicants to seek district court review of PTO decisions, does not permit awards of attorneys' fees to PTO lawyers participating in the proceeding, according to an AIPLA brief to the en banc Federal Circuit. -
Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene's Energy Group, LLC, U.S., No. 16-712, 8/31/2017.
August 31, 2017
Congress's decision to permit the Patent Trial and Appeal Board to adjudicate and if necessary cancel issued patents does not violate the separation of powers doctrine or the Seventh Amendment, according to a brief filed August 31, 2017, at the Supreme Court. -
In re Silver, Sup. Ct. of Texas, No. 16-1682, 8/10/2017
August 9, 2017
Communications between a patent agent and a client should enjoy the protections of an attorney-client privilege when those communications occur within the scope of a patent agent’s authority under the Patent Act, according to an AIPLA letter brief filed August 10, 2017, in the Supreme Court of Texas. -
Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Fed. Cir., Nos. 16-1284, 7/14/2017
July 14, 2017
A Federal Circuit panel misconstrued the statutory language and legislative history of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1), as amended by the America Invents Act (AIA), when it invalidated a patent based on a press release and SEC filing about a sales agreement by the patent owner, according to an AIPLA amicus brief urging en banc review of the case. -
WiFi One, LLC v. Broadcom Corp., Fed. Cir., No. 2015-1944, amicus brief filed 2/23/2017
February 23, 2017
The statute (35 U.S.C. 314(d)) barring appeals of Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions to institute inter partes review proceedings (IPR) does not apply to the statute (35 U.S.C. 315(b)) prohibiting the Board from instituting an IPR on a petition filed more than one year after the petitioner was sued for infringement, according to an AIPLA amicus brief to the en banc Federal Circuit. -
TC Heartland LLC v. Kraft Foods Group Brands LLC, U.S., No. 16-341, amicus brief filed 2/6/2017
February 6, 2017
The Federal Circuit correctly interpreted the general venue statute at 28 U.S.C. 1391 as providing a definition of “resides” in the patent venue statute at 28 U.S.C. 1400(b). -
Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., U.S., No. 15-1189, amicus brief filed 1/24/2017
January 24, 2017
The Supreme Court's decisions in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 133 S. Ct. 1351 (2012), and Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., 553 U.S. 617 (2008), require no change to the Federal Circuit law of international patent exhaustion and conditional sales, AIPLA argued to the Supreme Court in a January 24, 2017 amicus brief. <br /> <div> </div>
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Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., et al. No. 18-1233, amicus brief filed 09/20/2019.
September 20, 2019
AIPLA argues that that proof of willfulness should not be required for an accounting of profits under Section 35(a) of the Lanham Act. -
Thryv, Inc. v. Click-to-Call Technologies, LP, U.S., No. 18-916, amicus brief filed 09/10/2019.
September 10, 2019
AIPLA argues that the Supreme Court should affirm the Federal Circuit’s en banc holding that 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) does not preclude judicial review of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (Board’s) final determination of whether a petition for inter partes review is time-barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). -
Peter v. Nantkwest, U.S., No. 18-801, amicus brief filed 07/22/2019.
July 24, 2019
AIPLA argues that the Supreme Court should reject the Government’s argument that an applicant challenging a PTAB decision under Section 145 must also pay pro rata for PTO attorney and staff time, even if the applicant’s challenge is successful. -
1-800 Contacts v. Federal Trade Commission, 2nd Cir., No. 18-3848, amicus brief filed 06/14/2019.
June 14, 2019
The Federal Trade Commission erred in multiple respects in holding that the parties’ agreed-upon advertising prohibitions unreasonably restrain trade in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act, AIPLA argued in a June 14, 2019, amicus brief. -
Hulu, LLC v. Sound View Innovations, LLC, IPR2018-01039, amicus brief filed 5/1/2019.
May 7, 2019
This Amicus Brief addresses the question of what is required for a petitioner to establish that an asserted non-patent reference qualifies as a “printed publication” at the institution stage. -
Iancu v. Brunetti, U.S., No. 18-302, amicus brief filed 2/25/2019.
February 26, 2019
The Lanham Act ban against registering immoral and scandalous marks violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment because it has a viewpoint-discriminatory effect, AIPLA argued to the Supreme Court in a February 25, 2018 amicus brief. -
Proppant Express Investments, LLC v. Oren Technologies, LLC., PTAB, Case No. IPR2018-00914, amicus brief filed 12/28/2018.
January 8, 2019
AIPLA on December 28, 2018, argued in an amicus brief to the Precedential Opinion Panel of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that the circumstances in which the Director may grant a motion for self-joinder should be the exception, not the rule.
Judicial Advocacy Archives
To see amicus briefs filed by AIPLA from previous years, please click here
Recent Advocacy
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AIPLA Comments to TPAC on Proposed Trademark Fees
September 30, 2019
AIPLA thanks the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (“TPAC”) for conducting the hearing on the Proposed Trademark Fee Schedule on September 23, 2019, and for this opportunity to express our views on the proposal. -
AIPLA Comments on USPTO Setting and Adjusting Patent Fees
September 30, 2019
AIPLA comments on seven aspects of the proposed fee schedule: general comments on the proposed fees; comments on the surcharge for not filing patent applications in docx format, comments on the surcharge for late payment of maintenance fees within 6 months, comments on the patent trial and appeal fees, comments on the annual practitioner fee, and comments on the CLE discount for this fee. -
Romag Fasteners, Inc. v. Fossil, Inc., et al. No. 18-1233, amicus brief filed 09/20/2019.
September 20, 2019
AIPLA argues that that proof of willfulness should not be required for an accounting of profits under Section 35(a) of the Lanham Act. -
Thryv, Inc. v. Click-to-Call Technologies, LP, U.S., No. 18-916, amicus brief filed 09/10/2019.
September 10, 2019
AIPLA argues that the Supreme Court should affirm the Federal Circuit’s en banc holding that 35 U.S.C. § 314(d) does not preclude judicial review of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (Board’s) final determination of whether a petition for inter partes review is time-barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b). -
Letter to the House Judiciary Committee regarding July 2019 "Counterfeits and Cluttering" Hearing
September 9, 2019
The American Intellectual Property Law Association submitted a letter to the House Judiciary Committee presenting its views on the subject matter of the July 2019 "Counterfeits and Cluttering: Emerging Threats to the Integrity of the Trademark System and the Impact on American Consumers and Businesses."