One Day, Two Supreme Court Decisions, And Frivolous Patent Suits Get Riskier

Tuesday’s rulings in Octane Fitness v. Icon Health & Fitness and Highmark v. Allcare Health Management System will make it easier for the winner in a patent lawsuit to collect attorneys’ fees, and it’s widely assumed this will make it more likely that patent trolls – or any party for that matter – will think twice about the merits of their case before filing a patent lawsuit. Morgan Lewis attorneys C. Erik Hawes and David J. Levy take a look at what the Supreme Court said and how it’s likely to play out. In Octane, the Court lowered the bar for demonstrating a case is sufficiently “exceptional” to merit the award of attorney fees. In Highmark, the Court established  a review standard that will make it less likely the Federal Circuit will reverse fee awards imposed by district courts.