US Supreme Court ruling in Cisco Systems patent infringement case favored Commil USA

The US Supreme Court's 6-2 vote over the patent infringement case between Cisco Systems and Commil USA announced a ruling. The vote was in favor of Commil USA while judges addressed patent case issues from similar cases.

Commil USA was previously awarded $63.8 million in damages by a jury while the case's presiding judge topped it up with interest worth $10.3 million back in 2011. A retrial favored Cisco's situation in the case in June 2013. The appeals court says that a "good faith" defense must be taken into considerations. However, Justice Anthony Kennedy in the US high court ruled that Cisco didn't have a legitimate defense in believing that Commil's patent is invalid. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Antonia Scalia favored Cisco with Scalia citing that "patent trolls" will take advantage of the new ruling.

Reports show excitement from the case watchers as the court acknowledged the term patent troll. It's the first time that the term patent troll is officially used in the US court as confirmed by an expert. Judge Kennedy expressed the same sentiment over patent trolls saying that "Some companies may use patents as a sword to go after defendants for money, even when their claims are frivolous." He added that "This behavior can impose a 'harmful tax on innovation.'"

The Commil vs Cisco case was about a patent infringement on a wireless transmission network technology with the need for multiple access points. Commil claims that Cisco breached the patent for its technology and also induced infringement in other entities by selling its equipment. Similar patent wars between smartphone manufacturers are currently active in South Korea and China. These countries are implementing antitrust policies that may weaken the ability of companies such as Qualcomm, Apple and Microsoft Corp to compete in China.

The case exposes patent troll issues that could potentially impede innovation. On the other hand, it also tackles the importance for patent checks and legal measures prior to a product development.