Spectrum

Federal Circuit Sends Spectrum Property Rights Case Back for More Briefing

Judges felt more information was needed to rule confidently on the issue.

Jake Neenan

Jake Neenan

— 3 min read
Federal Circuit Sends Spectrum Property Rights Case Back for More Briefing
Photo of the Howard T. Markey National Courts Building, which houses both the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and U.S Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, from Wikimedia Commons

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2026 – After hearing oral arguments last month, federal judges said they didn’t have enough information to decide whether spectrum licenses create property rights for license holders.

Satellite company Ligado alleged Defense Department operations are preventing the company from making use of its FCC license and thus the company should be entitled to compensation. The government countered that electromagnetic spectrum is a public resource that the FCC grants access to, and thus licensees don’t actually own anything and should not be compensated if the government operates in bands they were licensed for.

“We conclude that the parties have presented arguments at too high a level of generality and with insufficient focus on the specifics of the statute at issue and of actions taken under it,” U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Judge Richard Taranto wrote in a Monday opinion.

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Spectrum Richard Taranto Kimberly Moore Kara Fernandez Stoll Federal Circuit Blair Levin FCC Ligado Networks Defense Department

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