On March 11 Unified, joined by HP Inc. and Engine Advocacy, filed an amicus brief with the Federal Circuit in Affinity Labs of Texas, LLC v. Netflix to defend the constitutionality of the appointment of all PTAB administrative patent judges. Affinity Labs of Texas, who has sued more than 20 diverse companies such as Ford, Blackberry, the NHL, and Nike and has unsuccessfully appealed other patents canceled under 35 U.S.C. § 101, brought the constitutional argument up for the first time on appeal.  Unified's brief demonstrates the history of PTAB appointments, from the "Duffy fix" to the current broad power of the USPTO Director to oversee the proceedings and the APJs.  The U.S. Government intervened, and Unified's brief supports their position. 

The brief is available below. More information about this case can be found on Unified’s Portal.