For years, the Supreme Court rarely, if ever, decided to review patent rulings of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, seemingly reflecting the view that, as a specialized court, the Federal Circuit knew best how to construe the Patent Act. This Supreme Court term is different. The Court has heard three patent cases and, within the past month, reversed the Federal Circuit in two significant opinions, one dealing with the doctrine of equivalents and the other with the scope of the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction.
Doctrine of Equivalents
