( January 28, 2026, 2:48 PM EST) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 27 denied a petition for a writ of mandamus, declining to reconsider the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (PTO) reliance on “‘settled expectations’” in denying Google’s petition for inter partes review (IPR) challenging a software patent....