The US Supreme Court has reversed a longstanding convention regarding how patent-infringements lawsuits are handled, making it harder for so-called “patent trolls” to pursue cases in sympathetic courts.
“Patent trolls” are individuals or organisations that profit from suing over patents, even if they do not make any products of their own. They prefer to file cases in courts like the US District Court in Eastern Texas, which is reputed for rules and juries that favour plaintiffs in patent-infringement suits. The court attracts the most patent infringement suits in the US.
In a decision handed down on 22 May, the Supreme Court’s justices unanimously voted that patent suits can be filed only in jurisdictions where defendants are incorporated, siding with water flavouring maker TC Heartland in a case against Kraft Foods, Reuters reported.
TC Heartland, which got sued by Kraft Foods in Delaware, wanted to move the case to its home base in Indiana. The district court and appeals court judges who heard the case both didn’t allow the transfer.
The Supreme Court’s decision overturns a 2016 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. That ruling said that patent suits can be filed anywhere a defendant’s products are sold. The federal appeals court has been using a similar rule since 1990.
“Individuals and businesses in the U.S. have been unfairly required for decades to defend patent suits in far off locales, adding cost, complexity and unpredictably to the intellectual property marketplace,” said Ted Gelov, TC Heartland CEO.
The ruling is expected to have a large impact on the technology industry, which sees a very high volume of intellectual property cases each year.
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