The current case of Gunn v Minton involves a software manufacturer suing a group of Texas lawyers over an alleged mishandling of patent infringement action filed against the stock exchange, Nasdaq. The lawyers deny negligence, but the issue of whether the case should be heard at state or federal level has gone to the country’s highest court.

Inconsistency

According to a report in the National Law Journal, observers anticipate that the Supreme Court justices will side with the federal courts, with the report maintaining the judges are concerned that US state court decisions in patent negligence cases would bring ‘inconsistency to federal law’. It is also suggested that the justices fear that inconsistency would then spread to other areas, such as immigration and competition law.
Supreme Court Justice John Roberts Jr is reported as having concerns that if state courts had jurisdiction over the area, it ‘would be disruptive of the uniformity of federal patent law’.
The Supreme Court hearing continues in the matter.