View source for Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

{{Organization
|OrganizationName=Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
|OrganizationType=Independent Agencies
|Mission=United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit oversees patents, trade, contracts, and veterans’ benefits, ensuring uniform law application.
|CreationLegislation=Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982
|Employees=200
|Budget=$35 million (fiscal year 2023)
|OrganizationExecutive=Chief Judge
|Services=Patent appeals; Trademark appeals; Government contracts; Federal employee benefits; Veterans' claims
|HeadquartersLocation=38.89983, -77.03457
|HeadquartersAddress=717 Madison Place NW, Washington, DC 20439
|Website=https://www.cafc.uscourts.gov
}}
{{short description|Current United States federal appellate court}}

The '''United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit''' (in [[case citation]]s, '''Fed. Cir.''' or '''C.A.F.C.''') is one of the 13 [[United States court of appeals|United States courts of appeals]]. It has [[appellate jurisdiction]] over certain categories of specialized cases in the [[Federal judiciary of the United States|U.S. federal court system]]. Specifically, it has exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal cases involving [[patent]]s, [[trademark]] registrations, [[government procurement|government contract]]s, [[veterans' benefits]], public safety officers' benefits, [[Federal Employees Health Benefits Program|federal employees' benefits]], and various other types of cases.<ref>USCAFC  [http://www.cafc.uscourts.gov/the-court/court-jurisdiction Court Jurisdiction]</ref> The Federal Circuit has no jurisdiction over [[Federal crime in the United States|criminal]], [[Bankruptcy in the United States|bankruptcy]], [[Immigration to the United States|immigration]], or [[State law (United States)|U.S. state law]] cases. It is headquartered at the [[Howard T. Markey National Courts Building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] 

The Federal Circuit was created in 1982 with passage of the [[Federal Courts Improvement Act]], which merged the [[United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals]] and the appellate division of the [[United States Court of Claims]], making the judges of the former courts into circuit judges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fjc.gov/history/home.nsf/page/landmark_22.html|work=History or the Federal Judiciary | publisher=Federal Judicial Center |title=Federal Courts Improvement Act of 1982|access-date=November 21, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{USPL|97|164}} §165, {{USStat|96|50}}.</ref>  In addition to the Markey Building, the court also occupies the adjacent [[Benjamin Ogle Tayloe House]], former [[Cosmos Club]] building, and the [[Cutts-Madison House]] in Washington, D.C., on [[Lafayette Square, Washington, D.C.|Lafayette Square]]. The court sits from time to time in locations other than Washington, and its judges can and do sit by designation on the benches of other courts of appeals and federal district courts. {{As of|2016}}, [[Washington and Lee University School of Law|Washington and Lee University School of Law's]] Millhiser Moot Courtroom had been designated as the [[Continuity of government|continuity of operations]] site for the court.<ref name="court_jurisdiction">{{cite web |url=https://columns.wlu.edu/u-s-appeals-court-for-the-federal-circuit-to-hear-cases-at-wl-law/|title=U.S. Appeals Court for the Federal Circuit to Hear Cases at W&L Law|date=March 7, 2016|access-date=March 8, 2016}}</ref>