Supreme Court upholds patent review process News
Supreme Court upholds patent review process

The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] 7-2 Tuesday in Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC [SCOTUSblog materials] that inter partes review, which authorizes the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) [official website] to reconsider and cancel an already-issued patent claim, under 35 USC §§ 311-319, does not violate Article III or the Seventh Amendment [text] of the Constitution.

This review system was created by Congress in the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. It has made it easier for big tech companies to invalidate patents held by so-called “patent trolls.”

In an opinion by Justice Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment [opinion, PDF] of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

Justice Stephen Breyer filed a concurring opinion, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. Justice Neil Gorsuch filed a dissent, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts.

In a separate patent case Tuesday, the court ruled [opinion, PDF] 5-4 in SAS Institute Inc. v. Matal [SCOTUSblog materials] that when the USPTO institutes an inter partes review under the America Invents Act, it must decide the patentability of all of the claims the petitioner has challenged.

Gorsuch based his majority opinion on the plain meaning of the statute, which provides that the USPTO must “issue a final written decision with respect to the patentability of any patent claim challenged by the petitioner.” 35 USC § 318(a).

Ginsburg filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan. Breyer also filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Ginsburg and Sotomayor and in part by Kagan.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.