When You *Can* Say It Any Plainer Than That

One of the peculiar features of most patent litigation—and one reason it is so expensive—is the process of claim construction. The courts have decided that disputes over the language of patent claims must be decided by the trial judge because they are “questions of law” not “questions of fact.” And that has come to mean...

Teva for Two: Federal Circuit Doubles Up On De Novo Review

In Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz, the Supreme Court said that in patent cases, like any other civil case, the court of appeals must show deference to the trial court’s findings of fact, even if those findings relate to the legal issue of the proper construction of claim language in a patent. In reporting on that...

Supreme Court Uncertain On Claim Construction Standard

The Supreme Court’s new term got off to a hot start in the patent field with Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz. At oral argument on October 15, 2014, the justices wrestled with themselves and each other over how to weigh competing interests and rules in a case that could, depending on the outcome, change patent litigation...