Supreme Court reverses Federal Circuit in Medtronic patent case News
Supreme Court reverses Federal Circuit in Medtronic patent case
Photo source or description

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Wednesday in the case of Medtronic v. Mirowski Family Ventures [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] reversing the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit [official website]. While the Supreme Court held that the Federal Circuit had subject matter jurisdiction to hear the case, it found that the Federal Circuit improperly placed the burden of persuasion on Medtronic as the party seeking declaratory judgment. Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Stephen Breyer stated:

[I]n a licensee’s declaratory judgment action, the burden of proving infringement should remain with the patentee. … To shift the burden depending upon the form of the action could create postlitigation uncertainty about the scope of the patent. … If the burden shifts … both sides might lose as to infringement, leaving the infringement question undecided, creating uncertainty among the parties and others who seek to know just what products and processes they are free to use.

The decision reversed the ruling [opinion] by the Federal Circuit and remanded for further proceedings.

The case arose when Medtronic brought declaratory judgment action in Federal District Court in Delaware against Mirowski for infringing on its patents. The Supreme Court heard oral argument on the case in November after granting certiorari [JURIST reports] in May.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Pope Urban II sparks First Crusade

Pope Urban II threw his support behind what would become the First Crusade on November 27, 1095 during the Council of Clairmont. The Pope urged the council's participants to render aid to the Byzantine Empire, which was being attacked by the Seljuks. Pope Urban called for a wide coalition of rich and poor to combat the threat, which eventually resulted in the conquest of much of the Muslim-controlled Levant by the Crusaders and the establishment of the Crusader States. Read Pope Urban's address.  

Catholic Code of Canon Law revised

On November 27, 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church went into effect. Learn more about the history of Canon Law from Professor Kenneth Pennington of the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law.

Alfred Nobel creates Nobel Prize in his will

On November 27, 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his will, creating the Nobel Prize. Learn more about the history of the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Commission.