UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT

717 MADISON PLACE, N.W.

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20439

PETER R. MARKSTEINER

CLERK OF COURT

CLERK’S OFFICE

202-275-8000

September 2, 2022

NOTICE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE 

FEDERAL CIRCUIT RULES OF PRACTICE

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2071(b) and Federal Circuit Rule 47(a), the United States 

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit gives notice that it proposes to amend 

Federal Circuit Rules of Practice 25, 27, 28, 28.1, 30, 31, 32, 33, 33.1, 34, 35, 40, 41, 

47.4, and 47.5, and the Practice Notes to Rules 33.1, 38, and 47.7. The proposed 

amendments are available on the court’s website. If adopted, the amendments would 

take effect on December 1, 2022.

Public comments must be received by the Clerk of Court on or before October 3, 

2022. 

Comments may be submitted by email to FederalCircuitRules@cafc.uscourts.gov or 

by mail as follows:

Proposed Rules Comments 2022

Clerk’s Office, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

717 Madison Place NW

Washington, DC 20439

All submitted comments must include the name and either a return email or mailing 

address for the submitter. Any submitted comments, including the name of the 

submitter, may be made available to the public unless a submitter specifically 

requests that either the submitter’s name or comment not be released to the public.

FOR THE COURT

/s/ Peter R. Marksteiner

Peter R. Marksteiner

Clerk of Court
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT SUMMARY OF PROPOSED

CLERK’S OFFICE AMENDMENTS

The following summary was prepared by the Clerk’s Office as a guide 

to the proposed amendments and should not substitute for reading 

the full text of the proposed amendments, which are available on the 

court’s website in the two following formats.

Redlined Copy of the Proposed Amendments

Clean Copy of the Proposed Amendments

This summary is neither intended to serve as legal advice nor as 

commentary on the changes to the Federal Circuit Rules of Practice.

Summary of Proposed 

Amendments to the Federal 

Circuit Rules of Practice

September 2022
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT SUMMARY OF PROPOSED

CLERK’S OFFICE AMENDMENTS

September 2022 Page 1

In addition to conforming amendments incorporating the 2022 amendments to the 

Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP), the court is proposing amendments to 

the following Federal Circuit Rules of Practice (FCR).

1. Fed. Cir. R. 25: Decreasing the required number of paper copies on rehearing 

or hearing en banc.

2. Fed. Cir. R. 27: Clarifying that requests for reconsideration of dispositive orders 

must be filed as rehearing petitions with limited exceptions.

3. Fed. Cir. R. 28: Moving the principal brief addendum requirements to their own 

subsection and addressing multi-volume addenda; requiring a separate heading 

for the standard of review and clarifying location expectations; clarifying patent 

claim language on inside front cover of principal briefs and relocating 

requirement to FCR 32; clarifying informal brief form requirement; requiring 

separate heading for jurisdictional statement in informal response brief.

4. Fed. Cir. R. 28.1: Adjusting citation to FCR 28 to correspond with new 

addendum subsection.

5. Fed. Cir. R. 30: Clarifying expectation for inclusion of patent and rehearing 

orders in the appendix; requiring brief title to identify when it contains an 

appendix; permitting unrepresented parties to file additional record material 

attached to a reply brief when the appellee files a separate appendix.

6. Fed. Cir. R. 31: Eliminating separate briefing schedule for informal briefing.

7. Fed. Cir. R. 32: Relocating patent claim language on inside front brief cover 

requirement to this rule from FCR 28 and permitting single-spacing of this 

language; excluding inside front cover contents and contents required on the 

first page of a filing in lieu of a cover from word counts; clarifying informal brief 

form and type-volume requirements.

8. Fed. Cir. R. 33: Clarifying that settlement discussion obligations do not apply 

to appellate intervenors.

9. Fed. Cir. R. 33.1: Incorporating Mediation Guidelines docketing statement 

requirement into the rule and requiring use of the form.
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FEDERAL CIRCUIT SUMMARY OF PROPOSED

CLERK’S OFFICE AMENDMENTS

September 2022 Page 2

10. Fed. Cir. R. 34: Requiring parties to file argument scheduling conflict notice, 

even if no conflicts exist; delegating authority to the clerk of court to set 

scheduling conflict limitations and accept or reject individual conflict dates; 

clarifying who must file a response to notice of oral argument; clarifying that 

parties represented by the same counsel can only have one counsel argue.

11. Fed. Cir. R. 35: Aligning with change to FCR 25 to decrease required number 

of paper copies.

12. Fed. Cir. R. 38: Adding practice note to direct filers to follow Rule 27 when filing 

motions for sanctions.

13. Fed. Cir. R. 40: Aligning with change to FCR 25 to decrease required number 

of paper copies.

14. Fed. Cir. R. 41: Adjusting the types of orders that will constitute the mandate.

15. Fed. Cir. R. 47.4: Citing to FCR 47.5 for related case requirement in certificate 

of interest.

16. Fed. Cir. R. 47.5: Creating expanded notice requirement when there are related 

cases in other tribunals in order to provide the court with more information on 

participating parties, firms, and attorneys.

17. Fed. Cir. R. 47.7: Adding practice note to direct filers to follow Rule 27 when 

filing motions for sanctions in the form of attorney fees.