Lawyers Weigh in on High Court’s Patent Rulings

Robert Brunelli contributed to an article on Law360 that provided reaction to the Supreme Court’s decisions in Highmark Inc. v. Allcare Health Management Systems Inc and Octane Fitness LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness Inc., that make it easier for courts to sanction plaintiffs that bring meritless patent infringement lawsuits.

According to Brunelli, the opinions change the law significantly.

“The Supreme Court today shifted power away from the Federal Circuit and back to the district courts, holding that an application for fees in a patent case be assessed by the district court under a preponderance of the evidence to determine whether the case stands out from others, such that an award of fees is appropriate, with that decision being reviewable only for an abuse of discretion. A likely result of these holdings is that patentees will further consolidate their infringement action filings into only the most patent savvy of district courts.”