Law360, New York (January 20, 2015, 10:09 AM EST) -- On Dec. 5, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Commil USA LLC v. Cisco Systems Inc. The latest in the court's recent patent law foray, this case poses the question of whether a party's belief that a patent is invalid can provide a defense to an allegation of induced infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b). Given the court's recent history in reviewing cases from the Federal Circuit, there is little doubt that the appellate court's holding that "evidence of an accused inducer's good-faith belief of invalidity may negate the requisite intent for induced infringement," Commil USA LLC v. Cisco Systems Inc., No. 2012-1042, slip op. at 11 (Fed. Cir. June 25, 2013) ("Fed. Cir. Op."), soon will be tempered, if not overturned. Companies therefore should begin to reassess their prelitigation conduct, taking into account the likely unavailability of a belief of invalidity for inducement....
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