SCOTUS Knocks Down Laches In Patent Cases

In a 7-to-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patent holders may not use the doctrine of laches as a defense to lawsuits filed within the Patent Act’s six-year statute of limitations. The doctrine of laches – an argument that defendants waited too long to assert their rights – undermines the statement Congress made by including an express six-year statute of limitations, the Court ruled. The ruling reverses a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruling in Petrella v. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which approved the use of laches based on precedent in 2016. “Although the relevant statutory provisions in Petrella and this case are worded differently, Petrella’s reasoning easily fits the provision at issue here,” Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority. “By the logic of Petrella, we infer that this provision represents a judgment by Congress that a patentee may recover damages for any infringement committed within six years of filing of the claim.”