Legal Definitions - Court of Customs and Patent Appeals

Definition: The Court of Customs and Patent Appeals was a court in the United States that had the power to make decisions about customs and patents. It was located in Washington, D.C. and was responsible for hearing cases from the U.S. Customs Court (which was later renamed the Court of International Trade) and the Patent and Trademark Office. The court was created in 1909 to help reduce the workload of other courts that were hearing customs cases. In 1929, Congress expanded the court's jurisdiction to include patents and trademarks.

Example: If a company wanted to patent a new invention, they would have to apply to the Patent and Trademark Office. If their application was denied, they could appeal the decision to the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals.

Explanation: This example illustrates how the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals had the power to review decisions made by the Patent and Trademark Office. If someone disagreed with a decision made by the office, they could ask the court to review the decision and make a new one.