LINDA GREENHOUSE reports that the Supreme Court reversed the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the specialized court that hears all patent appeals,
(
NY Times link here). It ruled 8-to-1 that the holder of a patent license can sue to challenge the patent's validity without first refusing to pay royalties and putting itself in breach of the license agreement and subjecting itself to a patent infringement suit and triple damages if it loses. See the story for the specifics.
Greenhouse suggests this will make it easier for smaller start-up companies that rely on obtaining licenses for patented technology from bigger patent-owning companies to challenge the legitimacy of those patents. Who else has enough self-interest to sue?
The decision could be important but we will have to wait and see how it works in practice. Competition is usually good. Pray that is what we got.