Fed Circuit Pending Patent Appeals Increase Slightly

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts has posted its latest set of judicial statistics. For the year ending March 31, 2008, the number of pending cases being considered by the Federal Circuit declined by about 20%, from 1201 to 975. Most of that decline, however, is accounted for by a decrease in appeals coming from the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.

Pending cases originating out of District Courts -- most of which would be patent-related -- increased from 317 to 336, while cases coming from the PTO declined a bit, from 39 to 34.

View the table here; for more appeal stats for other courts, look here.