Deadlocked Supreme Court Turns To IP Cases

Going into its new term with just eight justices, the U.S. Supreme Court has shied away from taking on controversial social issues which may result in a 4-4 tie. Instead, the Court will look at more technical issues, including at least four intellectual property cases of interest to the business community. That includes the $400 million dispute between Samsung and Apple over the design for the iPhone. In addition, the Court will soon decide whether to take up a case that pits an Asian-American rock band and the Washington Redskins football team against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the case of a woman fighting a copyright suit over a video of her toddler son dancing to a Prince song. “I do think the court will be looking for cases that don’t break along traditional partisan lines,” Stanford Law professor Mark Lemley told Reuters. “IP cases fit that bill.”