CCIA's Black Applauds Supreme Court Decision to Throw Out Rule Protecting Junk Patents

File Under: 2007, Copyright, News

Jan 7, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Commenting o­n the Supreme Court's 8-1 reversal of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in today's patent case, MedImmune Inc. v. Genentech Inc. (No. 05-608), Ed Black, President and CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association said, "Yet again, the Supreme Court has thrown out a ruling that perpetuates dysfunctions in the patent system." He added, "This marks yet another occasion where the Court has clamped down o­n the Federal Circuit's wayward jurisprudence."

CCIA has previously highlighted the Federal Circuit’s patent-happy activism to the Supreme Court in amicus briefs. It has repeatedly called for the reversal of decisions that subject innovators to abuse from junk patents.

In today’s decision, the Supreme Court rejects the Federal Circuit's 2004 Gen-Probe rule, under which a patent licensee had no judicial "standing" to challenge a patent - even junk patent - so long as it was licensing the patent from its owner. This rule required the licensee to break the agreement before it could ask a court to invalidate the patent. Because breaking a license agreement means expensive, high-stakes litigation, the Federal Circuit’s now-invalidated rule created risk and uncertainty for innovators.

Today’s Supreme Court ruling clears the way for timely challenges to junk patents that impede innovation.