U.S. Supreme Court Reaffirms Clear & Convincing Standard of Proof to Invalidate Patent

Rich Beem reports on the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Microsoft v. i4i, No. 10-290, 564 U.S. __ (2011) (Sotomayor, J.), that clear and convincing evidence is required to invalidate a patent. The Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit's decision below and reaffirmed a long line of precedent beginning with the Supreme Court's own holding in RCA v. Radio Engineering, 293 U.S 1 (1934) and continuing through 30 years of Federal Circuit decisions. Beem addresses the question:

"What does this mean for patent owners?" It means that when inventors and their companies obtain allowance and issuance of patents after examination in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that they will be entitled to rely on the statutory presumption of validity and to hold challengers to their burden of proving invalidity with clear and convincing proof. Overall, the holding in Microsoft v. i4i is good news for patent owners and for the patent system.