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Page Number: 16

Cite as:  584 U. S. ____ (2018) 

13 

Opinion of the Court 

canceling  a  patent  in  18th-century  England,  which  more 
closely  resembles  inter  partes  review:  a  petition  to  the 
Privy  Council  to  vacate  a  patent.    See  Lemley,  supra,  at 
1681–1682;  Hulme,  Privy  Council  Law  and  Practice  of 
Letters Patent for Invention From the Restoration to 1794, 
33 L. Q. Rev. 63 (1917).  The Privy Council was composed 
of  the  Crown’s  advisers.    Lemley,  supra,  at  1681.    From 
the 17th through the 20th centuries, English patents had 
a  standard  revocation  clause  that  permitted  six  or  more 
Privy  Counsellors  to  declare  a  patent  void  if  they  deter-
mined  the  invention  was  contrary  to  law,  “prejudicial”  or 
“inconvenient,”  not  new,  or  not  invented  by  the  patent 
owner.    See  11  W.  Holdsworth,  A  History  of  English  Law 
426–427, and n. 6 (1938); Davies, The Early History of the 
Patent  Specification,  50  L.  Q.  Rev.  86,  102–106  (1934).  
Individuals  could  petition  the  Council  to  revoke  a  patent, 
and  the  petition  was  referred  to  the  Attorney  General.  
The  Attorney  General  examined  the  petition,  considered 
affidavits from the petitioner and patent owner, and heard 
from  counsel.    See,  e.g.,  Bull  v.  Lydall,  PC2/81,  pp.  180–
181  (1706).    Depending  on  the  Attorney  General’s  conclu-
sion,  the  Council  would  either  void  the  patent  or  dismiss 
the  petition.    See,  e.g.,  Darby  v.  Betton,  PC2/99,  pp.  358–
359  (1745–1746)  (voiding  the  patent);  Baker  v.  James, 
PC2/103,  pp.  320–321,  346–347  (1752)  (dismissing  the 
petition). 
  The Privy  Council was a prominent feature of the Eng-
lish  system.    It  had  exclusive  authority  to  revoke  patents 
until  1753,  and  after  that,  it  had  concurrent  jurisdiction 
with  the  courts.    See  Hulme,  33  L.  Q.  Rev.,  at  189–191, 
193–194.  The Privy Council continued to consider revoca-
tion  claims  and  to  revoke  patents  throughout  the  18th 
century.  Its last revocation was in 1779.  See id., at 192–
193.  It considered, but did not act on, revocation claims in 
1782,  1794,  and  1810.    See  ibid.;  Board  of  Ordinance  v. 
Parr, PC1/3919 (1810).