December 2014

Looking Ahead

On December 5, 2014, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Commil USA, LLC, No. 13-896, on the question of “[w]hether the Federal Circuit erred in holding that a defendant’s belief that a patent is invalid is a defense to induced infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b).”   In the decision below, the Federal Circuit held that “evidence of an accused inducer’s good-faith belief of invalidity may negate the requisite intent for induced infringement.”  Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Sys., Inc., 720 F.3d 1361, 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2013).  The Supreme Court will now decide whether this good-faith belief in invalidity can serve as a defense to induced infringement.  Stay tuned to future editions of Last Month at the Federal Circuit to see how the Supreme Court’s future decision affects induced infringement analyses at the Federal Circuit.