U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court, located in Washington, D.C., stands as the highest court in the federal judiciary, not belonging to any specific circuit in the manner of district or appellate courts. Its role in patent litigation is unique, as it does not serve as a trial court and consequently does not handle an active patent docket comparable to federal districts. Instead, the Supreme Court selectively reviews a tiny fraction of the thousands of petitions it receives annually, typically hearing only 70-80 cases of exceptional importance across all areas of law. Its patent cases, which have increased significantly in the last two decades, focus on interpreting and clarifying federal patent law, establishing binding precedent for all lower federal courts, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Court's patent docket reputation is not characterized by speed or as a plaintiff-friendly venue, nor does it involve local patent rules, claim construction, or jury versus bench trials. Its impact on patent litigation is through landmark rulings that shape the legal landscape. The Supreme Court often reviews Federal Circuit decisions to correct perceived departures from its own precedent, change rules that have proven undesirable, or resolve internal disagreements within the Federal Circuit. For example, it has frequently addressed issues concerning patent-eligible subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101, particularly in relation to abstract ideas and laws of nature, often overturning Federal Circuit rulings in these areas.

The Supreme Court's procedures are primarily governed by its Rules, which detail the process for petitioning for a writ of certiorari, rather than specialized local patent rules found in district courts. A petition for certiorari must be filed within 90 days of the lower court's judgment, though a Justice may grant an extension for good cause for up to 60 days. The Court grants certiorari only in cases presenting novel or unsettled legal questions with broad impact, requiring at least four of the nine Justices to agree to hear a case.

Among the tracked cases, Agilent Technologies v. Synthego Corp. (25-779, docketed as 25-570) involved a pending petition for review which the Supreme Court denied on March 27, 2026. This decision left intact a Federal Circuit ruling that invalidated two Agilent CRISPR-related patents, which Synthego challenged using an abandoned patent application as prior art. Another tracked case, Google LLC v. Personalized Media Communications, LLC, was noted as "Remanded," which refers to a decision by the Federal Circuit in January 2024 to dismiss the appeal voluntarily after the parties reached an agreement. The Supreme Court also recently ruled in Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA v. Amarin Pharma, Inc. (24-889) in June 2026, a unanimous decision that made it harder for brand-name pharmaceutical manufacturers to block generic competitors through claims of induced infringement, particularly regarding "skinny labeling."

The U.S. Supreme Court is composed of nine Justices: one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices, all of whom participate in deciding patent cases. The current Chief Justice is John G. Roberts, Jr. Other sitting Justices include Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, and Clarence Thomas.