While the 2014-2015 U.S. Supreme Court term might be most remembered for the groundbreaking Obergefell v. Hodges decision, it can also be remembered for taking on six intellectual property cases, including two trademark cases. While the Court’s IP docket has grown in recent years, decisions touching on the subject are still fairly rare. Thus, when the Court takes an IP case, it is usually one that will carry significant impact. We will offer a brief summary of all the Court’s IP decisions, beginning with one of the patent cases, Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz.

New Standard of Review in Claim Construction

Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz involved a suit over alleged infringement of a patent relating to the manufacture of a multiple sclerosis drug and, in particular, the definition of the term “molecular weight” as it appeared in the patent claims. The language used in patent claims dictate the baseline scope of the patent holder’s rights and therefore a defendant’s putative infringement. Per the Supreme Court’s Markman v. Westview Instruments decision, patent claim construction is a legal issue to be determined by the Judge. As a legal issue, therefore, all district court determinations regarding claim construction were subject to de novo review in the Appellate Court – until Teva.
Continue Reading Judicial Update: Intellectual Property Decisions from the Supreme Court’s 2014-2015 Term