SUPREME COURT PATENT RULING A BOON FOR LICENSEES

A company's right to challenge a patent it is licensed to use is not restricted by the licensing agreement between that company and the patent holder, the U.S. Supreme Court said in a recent ruling.

In a case decided Jan. 9, the high court by an 8-1 decision ruled the patent licensee, MedImmune, is not required to terminate an agreement it made with Genentech in order to file for declaratory judgment.

"The net effect of the court's decision will be to facilitate challenges to patent validity by permitting licensees to seek judgments of invalidity," according to law firm Foley and Lardner.