With Justice Anthony Kennedy's recent announcement regarding his retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, Bloomberg Law reached to Finnegan partner Erika Arner for her insights on his impact on patent law.
Justice Kennedy authored the Bilski decision, a notable Supreme Court case for which Erika represented the petitioners. Erika said, "[His opinions were] very practical, from a practitioner’s standpoint. He rejected rigid tests that the Federal Circuit had established in several areas of patent law, and made courts take a more holistic approach when analyzing issues like obviousness." She added, "What made his opinions especially remarkable was the breadth of their applicability."
