United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

The United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals (CCPA) was a United States federal court which existed from 1909 to 1982 and had jurisdiction over certain types of civil disputes.

History

The CCPA began as the United States Court of Customs Appeals, created by the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of August 5, 1909, and it started its work the following year, on April 22, 1910. Five judges for the new court were appointed by President Taft: Robert Morris Montgomery, William H. Hunt, James Francis Smith, Orion M. Barber and Marion De Vries. The jurisdiction was originally appeals from decisions of the Board of General Appraisers, and no further appellate review was permitted. This changed in 1914, when writ of certiorari by the United States Supreme Court was allowed. The Patent Act of 1922 enlarged the jurisdiction of the court to include appeals on questions of law from Tariff Commission findings in proceedings relating to unfair practices in the import trade.

In 1929 the court's name was changed to the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals by an enactment that conferred upon it appeals from the United States Patent Office. These appeals included ex parte patent cases, appeals from interference proceedings, and trademark cases, appeals which theretofore had been heard in United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In the 1929 case Ex Parte Bakelite Corporation,[1] the Supreme Court held that the CCPA was a court formed under Article I of the Constitution. This left the judges unable to sit by designation on regular federal courts, and in an ambiguous situation regarding judicial retirement. This situation was not addressed by Congress until August 25, 1958, when a law was passed deeming the CCPA an Article III court.[2] This law was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, which overruled the Bakelite case.

In 1930 the CCPA moved into the Internal Revenue Service Building and remained there until 1967. The CCPA moved into the National Courts Building (now the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building), which it shared with the United States Court of Claims.

In 1982 the CCPA was abolished by the Federal Courts Improvement Act, and its jurisdiction, docket, and judges were transferred to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Judges

A total of 25 judges were appointed to the CCPA over the life of the court:

JudgeBegan active
service		Ended active
service		Appointed by
Helen Wilson Nies19801982[3]Carter
Jack Richard Miller19731982[3]Nixon
Howard Thomas Markey19721982[3]Nixon
Donald Edward Lane19691979Nixon
Phillip Benjamin Baldwin19681982[3]Johnson
James Lindsay Almond Jr.19631982[3]Kennedy
Arthur Mumford Smith19591968Eisenhower
Isaac Jack Martin19581966Eisenhower
Giles Sutherland Rich19561982[3]Eisenhower
William Purington Cole19521957Truman
Eugene Worley19501972Truman
Noble Jacob Johnson19481958Truman
Ambrose O'Connell19441962Roosevelt
Joseph Raymond Jackson19371952Roosevelt
Finis James Garrett19291955Hoover
Irvine Luther Lenroot19291944Hoover
William Johnson Graham19241937Coolidge
Oscar Edward Bland19231947Harding
Charles Sherrod Hatfield19231950Harding
George Ewing Martin19111924Taft
Orion Metcalf Barber19101928Taft
James Francis Smith19101928Taft
Marion De Vries19101922Taft
Robert Morris Montgomery19101920Taft
William Henry Hunt19101911Taft

See also

Bibliography

A brief history of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals / by Giles S. Rich. Washington, D.C. : Published by authorization of Committee on the Bicentennial of Independence and the Constitution of the Judicial Conference of the United States : U.S. G.P.O., 1980.

References
  1. Ex Parte Bakelite Corporation, 279 U.S. 438 (1929).
  2. "Public Law 85-755 85th Congress, H. R. 7866, 72 Stat. 848" (PDF).
  3. Reassigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on October 1, 1982, by operation of law.
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