The Supreme Court’s decision in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc. has wide reaching effects not only in the United States, but also in other parts of the world. Although some industries, like the high-tech companies, welcomed the use of common sense instead of the strict test, Japanese legal professionals are apprehensive of the ease with which patents can now be invalidated. George Best, a patent litigator in Foley’s Washington, D.C. office, was quoted in the article “Big Shift in Patent Standards by U.S. Supreme Court Aiming to Reduce ‘Obvious Patents’” in a recent issue of Nikkei Electronics. Best was quoted as saying that this decision will make it easier for patents to be attacked and for defendants to succeed in patent infringement cases.
