Clear Error Test Governs Review of Patent Rulings, Supreme Court Holds
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The U.S. Supreme Court held 8-2 today that the Federal Circuit may no longer ignore some rulings by trial court judges on how to construe patent claims. The outcome marks a major victory for parties that win the often-decisive battles over claim construction in Markman hearings in district court.
In Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., No. 13-854, slip op. at 4 (U.S. Jan. 20, 2015), the Court held that Rule 52(a)(6) governs review of “a district court’s resolution of subsidiary factual matters made in the courtse of its construction of a patent claim.”
The case turned on the meaning of “molecular weight” in a patent on a method for making a drug, Copaxone, that doctors prescribe for multiple sclerosis. The district court heard evidence on whether “a skilled artisan” in the field would know what the term meant, found that he or she would grasp it, and rejected Sandoz’s attack on the patent as invalid for indefinitess.
On appeal, the Federal Circuit reversed, ruling de novo that “molecular weight” had no definite meaning in the patent.
Justice Breyer’s majority opinion for the Court vacated the Federal Circuit’s decision and remanded for the lower court to reconsider in light of its obligation under Rule 52(a)(6) to uphold the district court’s fact findings unless Sandoz showed “clear error”.
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