In a 6-5 en banc decision handed down on Friday, the Federal Circuit revived two patent infringement cases—one brought by Akamai Technologies Inc. against Limelight Networks Inc., and another by McKesson Corp. against Epic Systems Corp. More significantly, the court refined the theory of "induced infringement," ruling that inducement applies even when the steps recited in the patented method were performed by multiple parties.

After a three-judge appellate panel reinstated a property owner's class action alleging that oil and chemical companies contributed to Hurricane Katrina's ferocity, the Fifth Circuit granted the defendants' motion to rehear the case en banc. Then, because it couldn't muster enough judges to hear it, the appellate court dismissed the appeal.