Law Vibe

From May It Please the Court:

By now, if you follow anything to do with current legal issues, you’ve seen most of the analysis and prognostications from lawyers across the country about the recent Supreme Court patent decisions, and the earth-shattering change one of Black Monday’s decisions will have on the patent bar and patent litigators, like this firm.  In case you missed it, however, click here for a roundup of the professor and practitioner’s take on the decision on KSR v. Teleflex.

Or, if you’re somewhat more kinesthetic, then you can listen to this podcast recorded today with three top patent experts.

If you’re not in the ivory towers, but rather in the trenches like we are, then perhaps this New York Times report is more apropos.  In that report, Vonage is requesting a new trial after it got slammed by a jury who favored Verizon’s version of the patent case.  The reason?  Black Monday’s Supreme Court decision.

Given that decision, anyone with a patent based in part on prior art, and if it’s “obvious” - as opposed to patentable - the patent holder can expect a challenge to their patent by someone who wants to do the same thing.  Patent holders just saw the value of their patent portfolios drop through the floor.

Perhaps this quote from Aubrey Menen encapsulates the Supreme Court’s ruling best:  “The essence of success is that it is never necessary to think of a new idea oneself.  It is far better to wait until somebody else does it, and then to copy him in every detail, except his mistakes.”