The CAFC is the sole court in the USA that hears patent appeals. [0] All patent appeals go to the CAFC.
The CAFC has limited jurisdiction. It mostly hears patent cases, but also hears federal employee claims and some foreign trade cases. All judges on the court are equal but they have different backgrounds. Judges Dyk and Prost write the most rational and evenhanded decisions on the court and have little background in patents and technology policy. Prost was a labor lawyer and Dyk worked on First Amendment cases before being appointed. The worst judges worked for big science organizations in government and industry, but they write as if they were completely ignorant of science in order to grind down innovators in favor of government granted privileges.
The CAFC has limited jurisdiction. It mostly hears patent cases, but also hears federal employee claims and some foreign trade cases. All judges on the court are equal but they have different backgrounds. Judges Dyk and Prost write the most rational and evenhanded decisions on the court and have little background in patents and technology policy. Prost was a labor lawyer and Dyk worked on First Amendment cases before being appointed. The worst judges worked for big science organizations in government and industry, but they write as if they were completely ignorant of science in order to grind down innovators in favor of government granted privileges.
[0] This link is worth reading: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/09/how-a-rogue-appea...