Today, in SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. King Drug Company of Florence, Inc., S.Ct. 15-055, opinion below, King Drug Company of Florence, Inc. v. SmithKline Beecham Corp., 791 F.3d 388 (3rd Cir. 2015) (Scirica, J.), the Supreme Court issued a CVSG order inviting the Solicitor General to provide the views of the United States whether certiorari should be granted in this case involving an antitrust challenge to an exclusive license.
The Question Presented: Petitioner asks “[w]hether the Third Circuit’s sweeping holding that a patentee’s grant of an exclusive license must undergo antitrust scrutiny by courts and juries – even though such a license is specifically permitted under the patent laws – is inconsistent with this Court’s decision in [FTC v. Actavis,133 S.Ct. 2223 (2013),] and decades of this Court’s earlier precedents.”
CVSG Decision Later this Year: The Solicitor General has no fixed time limit in which to file his CVSG brief, which may take place many months from now. Thereafter, the Court will vote whether to grant certiorari.
Regards,
Hal