ANALYSIS: Supreme Court—In IP We Agree

Whatever their overall differences in legal philosophy and interpretation, the Justices of the Supreme Court have traditionally shown a high level of agreement in intellectual property (IP) cases. That trend continued in six IP cases decided during the Court’s 2018 term, covering subjects ranging from scandalous trademarks to secret pharmaceutical sales.

1.The four consensus opinions

The 2018-19 Court issued unanimous, or near-unanimous, opinions covering the following points:

—The 35 U.S.C. §102 on-sale bar remains unchanged through the institution of the America Invents Act (AIA) (Helsinn Healthcare S. A. v. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc., 139 S. Ct. 628)

—A lessor’s bankruptcy ...