InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[whizzeresq]

Snowblow5--Let me see if I can finally explain this issue. Judge Lynn's decision came from a federal district court in Texas. Ordinarily, IDCC's appeal would have gone to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals because the Fifth Circuit covers appeals from Texas' federal district courts. However, because the case related to patents, the appeal instead went to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears all appeals of patent cases. Because Judge Lynn's decision related to the right of Nokia to intervene and convince Judge Lynn to reverse her decision made on vacating previous rulings, the appeal involved procedural matters and not patent law questions. Under the applicable law, because the appeal involved procedural matters and not patent law issues, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals was required to apply the law on those procedural issues as decided in Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals cases. As a result, although the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals issued the decision, it followed the principles established by Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decisions on the procedural issues invovled in IDCC's appeal.