High Court Shows Little Enthusiasm for Lowering Patent Damages Standards

In a case with broad implications for medical patent protection, the U.S. Supreme Court showed little enthusiasm for lowering a strict appellate standard for enhanced damages during oral arguments last week.

The eight justices considered a consolidated case involving two instances of patent infringement, both of which challenged the federal appellate courts’ two-part test to determine whether an infringement is willful, thereby opening a patent violator up to triple compensatory damages.

The justices sharply questioned both sides in the case but expressed a clear reticence toward dismantling the existing standard.