Patently-O

by Dennis Crouch

The Supreme Court has spent several recent Terms assembling a general law of secondary liability, and on June 4, 2026, it folded patent inducement into that project. In Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. v. Amarin Pharma, Inc., N...

by Dennis Crouch

Patent marking represents a quirky notice doctrine. Section 287 provides that a patentee may mark "any patented article" that is being made, sold or imported "for or under them." A penalty applies for failure to mark:

In the event of failure so to mark, no damages shall be recovered by the patentee in any action for infringement, except on p...

by Dennis Crouch

In 2008, I published a short empirical study showing that U.S. patents were growing in every dimension. Specifications were getting longer and claims were getting more numerous, and the two trends moved together. The story was simple: patents were getting bigger.

Nearly two decades later, the picture has split in two. My new article,

by Dennis Crouch

It seems a bit crazy to me that almost every patent case involves a process of claim construction.  Those claims were already drafted by skilled patent attorneys and survived a rigorous examination process designed to wring-out  any uncertainty or ambiguity.  But, I calm down a bit when I look at court interpretation of other texts.&...

by Dennis Crouch

This past week, seven amicus briefs were filed in support of Google's petition challenging the "Settled Expectations" doctrine that emerged from the mist in 2025 as the leading cause of death of IPR petitions. The petition asks two questions: