Patent reform is coming to Europe. The E.U. is establishing a new patent regime that will allow inventors to file for a single patent valid in almost all of its member states, and that will set up a new patent court with venues in London, Munich, and Paris.

Microsoft's loss to the tiny Canadian software company--first in a jury verdict, then in post-trial rulings, and most recently at the Fed Circuit--has been a big blotch on the company's record of knocking out IP challenges. But now the Supreme Court will hear the case--and the outcome won't just affect Microsoft.

A looming trial in the case will showcase two of the country's most fearsome patent litigators — Douglas Lumish of Latham & Watkins for TransPerfect and Charles Verhoeven of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan for MotionPoint.

Two tech-savvy federal judges are sending different messages on the standard for permanent injunctions in patent cases. While Judge Lucy Koh denied Apple's request for a ban on Samsung sales in Decemer, on Thursday Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal entered a permanent injunction sought by Brocade against rival A10 Networks.