The U.S. Supreme Court on April 24 issued its decision in the closely watched patent case Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene’s Energy Group, LLC, 138 S. Ct. 1365 (2018). The case addressed a constitutional challenge to inter partes review (IPR), the process created by Congress through which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) may reconsider and cancel patent claims that were previously issued. The patent owner, Oil States Energy Services, argued that IPR violated Article III of the Constitution — under which the ‘‘judicial power’’ of the U.S. must be vested in federal courts — and the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial.

Originally published in Bloomberg BNA’s Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal® - May 31, 2018.