united states court of appeals for the federal circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. An intermediate-level appellate court with jurisdiction to hear appeals in patent cases, various actions against the United States to recover damages, cases from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the U.S. Court of International Trade, the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and some administrative agencies. • The Court originated in the 1982 merger of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals and the U.S. Court of Claims (although the trial jurisdiction of the Court of Claims was given to a new U.S. Claims Court). Among the purposes of its creation were ending forum-shopping in patent suits, settling differences in patent-law doctrines among the circuits, and allowing a single forum to develop the expertise needed to rule on complex technological questions that arise in patent suits. — Often shortened to federal circuit. — Abbr. CAFC; Fed. Cir. [Cases: Federal Courts 521.]
