Originally published on August 14, 2002
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was created in 1982 as the court having exclusive appellate jurisdiction over appeals from a final decision of a district court "if the jurisdiction of that court was based on an action arising under federal patent law." Before the Federal Circuit was created, appeals went to the regional circuits (as they do for most cases), where the likelihood of success could vary significantly among circuits. Some circuits had a reputation for holding patents invalid much more often than other circuits. The Federal Circuit was supposed to bring uniformity to patent law.
The Federal Circuit has asserted jurisdiction over all cases with a patent law claim. But in Holmes Group, Inc. v. Vornado Air Circulation Systems, Inc., the United States Supreme Court applied the "well-pleaded complaint" rule to restrict the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This rule looks to the plaintiff's
