The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear four patent-related appeals, leaving in place Federal Circuit decisions addressing prosecution laches, jury verdicts, patent eligibility, and patent marking requirements. Among the petitions denied was inventor Gilbert Hyatt’s challenge to the prosecution laches doctrine, which allows patents to be deemed unenforceable when applicants unreasonably delay prosecution. The Court also refused to revive a $181 million patent infringement verdict in favor of Finesse Wireless, declined to review the invalidation of a heart-monitoring patent under the patent eligibility framework established in Alice v. CLS Bank, and left intact a ruling awarding attorney fees against a patent owner whose infringement claims were dismissed for failing to satisfy patent marking requirements.

By denying review, the Court leaves existing Federal Circuit precedent intact, allowing these important patent law doctrines to continue guiding future litigation and USPTO practice.