The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that it had jurisdiction over an interlocutory appeal from a district court’s denial of a California anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) motion in a trade secret and inventorship case, finding such a denial was immediately appealable under the collateral order doctrine. On the merits, the Federal Circuit vacated and remanded the district court’s decision. IQE, plc v. Newport Fab, LLC, DBA Jazz Semiconductor, et al., Case No. 24-1124 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 15, 2025) (Hughes, Stark, Wang, JJ.)

IQE sued Jazz Semiconductor, Tower Semiconductor, and other entities and individuals (collectively, Tower) for violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, correction of inventorship under 35 U.S.C. § 256, and five claims arising under California state law, including trade secret misappropriation and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. Tower moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim and simultaneously filed an anti-SLAPP motion to strike the claims for misappropriation and intentional interference arising under state law. The district court denied Tower’s motion to strike. Tower appealed to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

The Ninth Circuit determined that under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a) the Federal Circuit would have had jurisdiction at the time the appeal was filed. The Ninth Circuit explained that the Federal Circuit had subject matter jurisdiction over the appeal because the complaint asserted a claim for correction of inventorship, a cause of action arising under federal patent law. The Ninth Circuit further concluded that the Federal Circuit had appellate jurisdiction under Ninth Circuit law since the denial of an anti-SLAPP motion is an immediately appealable order under the collateral order doctrine. The Ninth Circuit therefore transferred the appeal to the Federal Circuit.

The Federal Circuit noted that the appeal raised a jurisdictional question of first impression: whether the Federal Circuit has jurisdiction over an appeal from a district court’s denial of an anti-SLAPP motion before entry of final judgment. The Federal Circuit agreed with the Ninth Circuit that it has subject matter jurisdiction over claims created by federal patent law. The Federal Circuit noted that appellate jurisdiction typically is limited to a final decision by the district court, but the collateral order doctrine provides a narrow exception that allows an interlocutory appeal when a trial court’s order affects rights that will be irretrievably lost in the absence of an immediate appeal. The Court analyzed the three collateral order factors and determined that an anti-SLAPP motion to strike under California law fits squarely within the collateral order exception to the final judgment rule.

IQE argued that jurisdiction was improper for two reasons:

• IQE filed an amended complaint after Tower’s appeal, suggesting the district court must revisit the motion.
• Some circuits have held that state anti-SLAPP statutes conflict with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The Federal Circuit rejected both arguments, finding the amended complaint improper under Ninth Circuit precedent and deferring to the Ninth Circuit’s view that California’s anti-SLAPP law applies in federal court. [...]

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