Atlantic Thermoplastics Co., Inc., James B. Sullivan and Richard B. Fox v. Faytex Corporation, Defendant/cross-Appellant

NEWMAN, Circuit Judge, with whom RICH and LOURIE, Circuit Judges,

join, dissenting from the court’s denial of rehearing en banc.

Almost exactly ten years ago, the Federal Circuit was formed in order to eliminate inconsistent law among circuits in patent cases. It was expected that the Federal Circuit would produce an internally consistent body of law of national effect, so that technological industry could rely on its decisions, in turn benefitting technological innovation. It was surely not intended that different panels of the Federal Circuit would deliberately issue conflicting law.

Since…