The government is not a “person” that has standing to challenge a patent under the America Invents Act, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The justices ruled 6-3 that while the AIA does not define a “person” in the statute, the court applied a long-standing interpretation that it does not include federal agencies such as the U.S. Postal Service. The justices said a person has been defined to include corporations, companies, associations, firms, partnerships, societies, and joint stock companies, as well as individuals, but it does not include the government.