SawStop Holding LLC v. United States Patent and Trademark Office, et al.
Patent Trademark
Does the judiciary have the authority to require a patent applicant to meet a condition for patentability not required by the Patent Act?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED The Patent Act adopted by Congress provides that a person shall be entitled to a patent if an invention meets three conditions: the eligibility condition of 35 U.S.C. § 101, the novelty condition of 35 U.S.C. § 102, and the non-obvious subject matter condition of 35 U.S.C. § 103. Beyond the Patent Act, the judiciary has created a fourth condition for patentability called non-statutory double patenting or obviousnesstype double patenting. The Questions Presented Are: 1. Does the judiciary have the authority to require a patent applicant to meet a condition for patentability not required by the Patent Act? 2.Is the judicially created doctrine of nonstatutory double patenting ultra vires?