Supreme Court Announces New Standards For Indefiniteness

The Supreme Court found that the Federal Circuit’s standard for “indefiniteness” in a patent needs to be revisited. “Insolubly ambiguous” doesn’t quite do the trick, according to the unanimous decision. Nixon Peabody attorneys Maia H. Harris, Mark James FitzGerald and Shayne Y. Huff view the decision as an attempt to rein in the vagueness that characterizes the Federal Circuit’s recent decisions on definiteness, and say it signifies lack of support for the lower court’s migration toward increasingly more flexible standards. During oral argument the Justices seemed troubled by the many proposed tests for “certainty” offered by the parties.