Source: http://www.lexvivo.com/2019/01/highway-to-helsinn.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 02:44:55+00:00

Document:
Today (January 22, 2019), the United States Supreme Court published its decision in the patent law case Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., et al. ("Helsinn v. Teva"). At issue was whether, under the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act of 2011, a commercial sale of an invention to a third party legally bound to keep the invention confidential triggers the on sale bar of 35 U.S.C. §102(a). The Supremes unanimously held it could in an opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Held: A commercial sale to a third party who is required to keep the invention confidential may place the invention “on sale” under §102(a). The patent statute in force immediately before the AIA included an on-sale bar. This Court’s precedent interpreting that provision supports the view that a sale or offer of sale need not make an invention available to the public to constitute invalidating prior art. See, e.g., Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc., 525 U. S. 55, 67. The Federal Circuit had made explicit what was implicit in this Court’s pre-AIA precedent, holding that “secret sales” could invalidate a patent. Special Devices, Inc. v. OEA, Inc., 270 F. 3d 1353, 1357. Given this settled pre-AIA precedent, the Court applies the presumption that when Congress reenacted the same “on sale” language in the AIA, it adopted the earlier judicial construction of that phrase. The addition of the catchall phrase “or otherwise available to the public” is not enough of a change for the Court to conclude that Congress intended to alter the meaning of “on sale.” Paroline v. United States, 572 U. S. 434, and Federal Maritime Comm’n v. Seatrain Lines, Inc., 411 U. S. 726, distinguished. Pp. 5–9. 855 F. 3d 1356, affirmed.
A lingering question is how the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's Special Devices, Inc. v. OEA, Inc. (Federal Circuit 2001) ("Special Devices v. OEA") decision is now to be interpreted in light of both The Medicines Co. v. Hospira Inc. (Federal Circuit en banc 2016), which addressed stockpiling by a manufacturer, on behalf of a patent owner, of the claimed invention, and Helsinn v. Teva, which appears to have cited Special Devices v. OEA with approval. Since the Supremes are unlikely to dive this deeply into the details of §102(a), it will be interesting to see how the Federal Circuit unravels this doctrinal knot.

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