Volume 43, Number 3 (2010) (The Federal Circuit as an Institution)

On Friday, October 30, 2009, the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review hosted The Federal Circuit as an Institution, a symposium exploring the wide variety of views and perspectives on the success of the Federal Circuit. Legal scholars, judges, and leading practitioners attended the live symposium to take part in the discussion of the history and the success of the Federal Circuit as an Institution.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit was uniquely created by Congress to guide and dominate the patent system. The premise of the Federal Circuit's creation was widespread dissatisfaction with the confusion and uncertainty that followed from regional circuit involvement in patent law. Since its creation, it has become a powerful force, expanding its influence over a number of areas of patent law, even as patents have increased in complexity and significance to the national economy. But as the institutional design imagined by Congress has been realized, there has been steadily increasing interest and debate concerning the success of the court as an institution. From a variety of theoretical and empirical perspectives, the symposium on The Federal Circuit as an Institution, hosted by the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review explored the question of how well the Federal Circuit is meeting its mandate to provide a more useful and efficient patent law, and by extension, patent system.

The Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review was delighted to have the Honorable S. Jay Plager, Circuit Judge of the Federal Circuit, participate as the symposium's Keynote speaker.

Articles from the symposium are available in the Spring 2010 issue of the Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review.