SAN FRANCISCO — With six appointees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, President Barack Obama has reshaped what some patent lawyers consider the most important court in the world. The six additions are comparable to four new justices joining the U.S. Supreme Court or more than a dozen being added to the Ninth Circuit.

Though it’s too soon to gauge any large-scale doctrinal shifts, the newcomers are already making their presence felt.