Supreme Court Denies Cert In Patent Eligibility Cases

The Supreme Court decided not to grant certiorari in Teva Pharms. USA, Inc. v. GlaxoSmithKline, LLC, which has come to be known as the “skinny label” case.

In Minerva Surgical, Inc. V. Hologic, Inc., the Supreme Court limited the equitable doctrine of assignor estoppel that prevents an assignor from subsequently challenging the validity of the patent he or she assigned. The Court outlined three scenarios where assignor estoppel might not apply, and has employers wondering if and how they can better shield their patents from subsequent inventor challenges.

Last week the Senate Judiciary Committee held two of three scheduled hearings on “The State of Patent Eligibility in America.” Many witnesses with prominent roles in the patent field testified in favor of legislative action to rein in recent Supreme Court decisions, but others warned against throwing out the baby with the bath water, and some saw no problem with the status quo. The hearings follow the draft bill introduced by Senators Tillis (R-NC) and Coons (D-DE) and Representatives Collins (R-GA-9), Johnson (D-GA-4) and Stivers (R-OH-15), which you can read about here.