Patent ‘Death Squad’ Rules Questioned at U.S. Supreme Court
- Apple, Google among supporters of new patent review system
- Justices debate U.S. board that tends to toss issued patents
Customers look at products as an Apple Inc. logo is illuminated at a shopping mall in Shanghai on Sept. 25, 2015.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
U.S. Supreme Court justices questioned a new system that has drawn applause from Google and Apple Inc. for invalidating hundreds of disputed patents without forcing the challengers to go to court.
Hearing arguments Monday, the justices debated the rules used by an administrative board that critics have labeled a "death squad" because of its tendency to throw out patents. The hour-long hearing didn’t produce any clear indication as to the likely outcome.