Sheila Swaroop, Chair, Firmwide Litigation Committee
Dear Readers,
As Chair of the Litigation group at Knobbe Martens, I am pleased to share the second edition of our Federal Circuit Year in Review. This report offers insights into more than 50 of the Federal Circuit’s most significant patent-related decisions from the past year, organized by central themes like claim construction, infringement, patentable subject matter, and PTAB developments.
2025 was another impactful year at the Federal Circuit, with opinions that established new precedent and offered practical guidance. A few broad trends emerged from the opinions covered in this report. First, the court’s analysis of claim construction emphasized the importance of issue preservation and consistency. Second, new leadership at the USPTO and activity at the PTAB underscored evolving boundaries around estoppel, reliance on applicant-admitted prior art and petition strategy, particularly for inter partes reviews. Third, the court’s decisions regarding patent eligibility under Section 101 continued to emphasize the importance of articulating technological detail in the claim language. Each of these themes resonated across multiple opinions this year, in addition to key rulings on other issues such as the role of expert witness testimony in damages cases and the domestic industry requirement for International Trade Commission proceedings.
In publishing this report, our aim is to provide IP professionals, in-house counsel, and business leaders with an overarching view of the patent litigation landscape, so you can act with confidence in the upcoming year. Inside, you’ll find concise summaries and in-depth analysis from Knobbe Martens lawyers that can help inform robust, effective patent strategies and advance your business goals.
This publication reflects the collective effort of our litigation team, and I’m grateful for the care they brought to researching, writing, and editing the report. We hope our 2025 Federal Circuit Year in Review serves as a dependable reference for you as we navigate what will surely be an exciting year ahead in patent litigation.
Sincerely,
Sheila Swaroop
Chair, Firmwide Litigation Group
Knobbe Martens
