Supreme Court to Address Legal Fee Awards in Patent Cases

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Highmark v. Allcare. The case asks the high court justices to consider if “district judges should have the key role in deciding whether to award victorious defendants attorney fees, rather than the Federal Circuit.” “Leaving the ultimate decision in the Federal Circuit is the best for everybody,” said Erik R. Puknys, Finnegan counsel for respondent Allcare. “[Litigants] can be confident they can take stances in litigation that won’t be view as arbitrary. There will be a national standard they can rely on.”

The Daily Journal noted that “Silicon Valley technology giants are closely following developments with Section 285, generally advocating that lowering the threshold for defendants to win fees would deter patent holding companies from filing lawsuits with the primary aim of collecting nuisance settlements. Apple Inc., Google Inc., and Yahoo Inc. are among the companies that have filed separate briefs to the high court.”