Jury’s Role in Standard Patent Fights Gets Federal Circuit Boost

A Federal Circuit order upholding a nearly $1 million verdict against a unit of TCL Corp. reinforces the role juries play in standard-essential patent disputes, removing a potential obstacle to trials.

Juries can decide whether a patent is essential to a technical standard, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled Aug. 4. The court rejected TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd.’s argument that a judge needed to resolve the issue before trial.

“It removes a potential legal hurdle that could’ve been used to avoid trial,” Michael Renaud, chair of the Intellectual Property Division at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris ...