Fed. Cir.: Rule 54(b) bars partial final judgment on patent claims
The Federal Circuit held that Rule 54(b) does not allow entry of final judgment on some asserted claims of a patent while other claims of the same patent remain unresolved.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concluded that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b) does not permit a district court to enter final judgment on a subset of asserted patent claims while other asserted claims of the same patent remain unresolved. Rule 54(b) requires an express direction that no just reason exists for delaying entry of judgment, and courts have applied that requirement strictly to avoid piecemeal appellate review of a single patent.
Practicing patent litigators should take note of the procedural sequencing consequence. In multi-claim patent cases, trial plans contemplating an early Rule 54(b) motion on selected claims — often used to accelerate appellate review of a dispositive ruling or to influence settlement posture — may need restructuring. Teams should reassess whether such motions remain viable where the unresolved claims belong to the same patent as the claims targeted for final judgment, and should evaluate joinder, claim-construction, or invalidity sequencing strategies instead.
Watch for further applications of the ruling in parallel patent litigation and in any pending appeal concerning the scope of immediate appellate jurisdiction over patent judgments. The decision's broader effects will depend on how district courts apply it in subsequent motions.