In another noteworthy year for patent law, the U.S. Supreme
Court and the Federal Circuit issued several decisions that altered
the patent landscape, including three Supreme Court decisions and
three en banc Federal Circuit decisions. The topics of the key
cases included the constitutionality and scope of inter
partes reviews, venue, damages and tribal sovereign
immunity.
This White Paper summarizes and explains some of the
most significant patent law decisions of 2018. Each of these
decisions has meaningful implications for patent owners, defendants
and patent practitioners alike.
THE SUPREME COURT FINDS INTER PARTES REVIEWS
CONSTITUTIONAL, BUT PTAB CANNOT CURATE CLAIMS
SAS Inst., Inc. v. Iancu, 138 S. Ct. 1348 (2018) The
Supreme Court addressed a straightforward question in SAS
relating to inter partes reviews ("IPRs"):
"When the Patent Office initiates an inter partes
review, must it resolve all of the claims in the case, or
may it choose to limit its review
