Amicus
News
No.
3. May 2, 1996
Supreme
Court Limits Jury Right in Patent Cases
On April
23, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Markman v. Westview
Instruments, Inc., No. 95-26, holding that a litigant in a patent infringement
suits is not entitled to a jury determination as to the meaning of terms
used in the patent claim.
Markman
owned the patent on a system that tracks clothing through the dry cleaning
process. His patent claim stated that the invention can maintain an inventory
total. Westview produces a system for use in dry cleaning establishments
designed to track inventory. In Markmans suit for patent infringement, a
primary issue was the meaning of the term inventory, as used in the patent
claim. A jury, after hearing expert testimony on the issue, found for plaintiff.
The trial judge directed a verdict for Westview, determining that the Markman
product did not track inventory. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding
that the interpretation of patent claims was the province of the judge,
not the jury. The Supreme Court granted review.
AAJ filed
an amicus curiae brief, arguing that the construction of patent claims is
a factual issue and that the lower courts action violated Markmans right
to trial by jury.
The Supreme
Court unanimously affirmed, finding no violation of the Seventh Amendment.
Justice Souter stated that, although parties are entitled to a jury trial
in infringement cases, the question of whether a particular issue is for
the jury depends on historical common law practice. The Court found no exact
historical antecedent to interpretation of patent claims, and observed that
in early patent cases judges construed patent specifications. In addition,
the Court stated that greater interpretive skil ls of judges and statutory
policy considerations supported allocation of claim construction to judges.
The decision
does not have direct application to tort cases, since historical antecedents
clearly allocated factual issues to juries. However, the decision is disappointing
in its failure to accord the highest weight to the constitutional right
to trial by jury.
A copy
of AAJs amicus brief can be downloaded from AAJ/NET at www.justice.org
in the Courts section. A limited number of bound copies are available upon
request to Jeffrey White.
Phone:
202-965-3500 x310
FAX: 202-955-0920
E-Mail:
jeffrey.white@justice.org
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