SCOTUS HOLDS IN HELSINN v. TEVA THAT PRIOR PUBLIC SALE MAY DESTROY NOVELTY WITHOUT DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIVE FEATURE

On January 22, 2019, SCOTUS held In Helsinn Healthcare S.A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc, that a prior public sale of a patented product could destroy the novelty of a patent for that product even though there was no disclosure of the inventive feature. In the unanimous decision, authored by Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court stated that changes in statutory language effected by the America Invents Act did not change the pre-existing law with respect to what constitutes a novelty bar to the grant of a patent as a result of a product having been placed “on sale” prior to the critical date of the patent.

For more in depth information about this case, an article by John Richards is available in our Education Center.