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The U.S. Supreme Court during its 2013-2014 term decided on six patent cases, the last on June 19, 2014. These cases will have significant consequences for companies as they work to advance their strategy for protecting their intellectual property. The following summary provides highlights of each case.

Medtronic Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures LLC

Question:

First some background: The Supreme Court in MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech Inc., 549 U.S. 118, 137 (2007), ruled that a patent licensee in good standing that believes its products do not infringe the licensed patent, and therefore are not subject to royalty payments, is not required to terminate its license agreement before seeking a declaratory judgment in federal court that the underlying patent is not infringed.

The question in this Medtronic case was whether, in such a declaratory judgment action brought by a licensee, the licensee had the burden to prove that its products do not infringe the patent, or did the patentee have to prove infringement. The Federal Circuit concluded that the licensee, as plaintiff, bore that burden, but a unanimous Supreme Court reversed.

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