U.S. Supreme Court opinion: Dec. 11 Wednesday, December 11, 2019

The Patent Act provides two mutually exclusive methods for challenging an adverse decision by the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). A dissatisfied applicant may appeal directly to the Federal Circuit, 35 U. S. C. §141, or, as relevant here, may file a new civil action against the PTO Director in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, §145.