The Return of the Supreme Court to Patent Law

The diverse set of patent-related cases decided by the Supreme Court has demonstrated that the Court is not only concerned with narrow issues that generally fall within the penumbra of constitutional issues. Instead, the recent set of cases selected for certiorari primarily related to the core aspects of patent law. During this unsettled period in patent law, with calls for reform coming from commentators and Congress itself, the Court is beginning to articulate its viewpoints on the appropriate scope of protection afforded by patents. The following section discusses the most recent cases before the Court that either are patent cases or that have potential consequences for patent law.

Moreover, I also discuss one case that the Supreme Court dismissed as having granted certiorari improvidently, given the lively and insightful dissents to that dismissal.