Supreme Court Smacks Federal Circuit Again

The Supreme Court issued another patent opinion today, holding that a patent licensee can sue to invalidate the patents that are the subject of the license. It's a standing issue, really, but it's also (1) yet another reversal of the Federal Circuit and (2) another path to challenge patent validity. This is consistent with the Court's recent trend with respect to the Federal Circuit and patents in general. If this is any indication of what lies ahead, the forthcoming KSR Teleflex decision is going to be a Federal Circuit bloodbath.