by Dennis Crouch
The vast majority of patent appeals are heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Such cases typically include at least one claim or compulsory counterclaim "arising under" U.S. patent laws. However, patent-related issues occasionally arise in contexts outside the Federal Circuit’s jurisdiction, notably in breach-of-license disputes involving patent misuse. One such case is the recent Ninth Circuit decision, C.R. Bard, Inc. v. Atrium Medical Corp., 112 F.4th 1182 (9th Cir. 2024).
The Bard dispute highlights ongoing issues surrounding patent misuse and specifically invokes the Supreme Court’s influential decisions in Brulotte v. Thys Co., 379 U.S. 29 (1964), and Kimble v. Marvel Entertainment, LLC, 576 U.S. 446 (2015).
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