US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia dies
Antonin Scalia, a US Supreme Court Justice who served at the court for almost 30 years, has died during a holiday in Texas.
Scalia was appointed by former US President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and was well-known for his advocacy of originalism—a philosophical doctrine that says that the US constitution should be interpreted within its original meaning.
He died on Saturday, February 13.
John Roberts, the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice, said in a statement: “He was an extraordinary individual and jurist, admired and treasured by his colleagues. His passing is a great loss to the court and the country he so loyally served.”
One of Scalia’s most recent contributions to the intellectual property field came last year in a dissenting opinion in the Commil v Cisco patent dispute.
The case concerned whether a party’s good-faith belief in the invalidity of a patent is a defence against a claim of induced infringement.
While the majority ruled it was not a valid defence, Scalia argued that for a party to be found liable for induced infringement it must be proven that a defending party has knowledge that the action is infringing.
“Because only valid patents can be infringed, anyone with a good-faith belief in a patent’s invalidity necessarily believes the patent cannot be infringed.
“To talk of infringing an invalid patent is to talk nonsense,” he wrote.
He concluded that the majority’s ruling “ increases the in terrorem power of patent trolls”.
Scalia’s death leaves just eight sitting justices. If a vote at the court is tied at 4-4 then the ruling of the lower court is affirmed, but no precedent is created.
The death, which comes nine months before the US presidential election, has caused a stir among Republicans who have vowed to oppose any nomination for a replacement put forward by US President Barack Obama.
Shortly after Scalia’s death on Saturday, February 13, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said: “People should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president”.
McConnell’s sentiment was echoed by all six Republican presidential candidates during Saturday’s televised debate.
