On January 20, 2015, the Supreme Court changed the standard under which trial court claim construction rulings will be reviewed on appeal, holding that a trial court's factual findings underlying its claim construction rulings must be given deference. Teva Pharm. USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 135 S.Ct. 831 (2014). In a 7-2 decision, the Teva Court concluded that a trial court's findings of fact underpinning a claim construction ruling must be reviewed under a "clearly erroneous" standard, rather than under the general de novo standard previously applied by the Federal Circuit.[1] The Teva decision, and its new two-part test for review of claim construction determinations, have important ramifications for patent practitioners.
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Originally published in the Boston Patent Law Association's Spring 2015 Newsletter, Vol. 26, Issue 1.
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