Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC

Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC
Argued November 5, 2013
Decided January 22, 2014
Full case nameMedtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC
Docket no.12-1128
Citations571 U.S. 191 (more)
134 S. Ct. 843; 187 L. Ed. 2d 703; 2014 U.S. LEXIS 788; 82 U.S.L.W. 4067; 109 U.S.P.Q.2d 1341
ArgumentOral argument
Opinion announcementOpinion announcement
Case history
PriorMedtronic, Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp., 777 F. Supp. 2d 750 (D. Del. 2011); vacated and remanded, 695 F.3d 1266 (Fed. Cir. 2012); cert.granted, 569 U.S. 993 (2013).
SubsequentOn remand, Medtronic Inc. v. Boston Scientific Corp., 558 F. App'x 998 (Fed. Cir. 2014); cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 364 (2014).
Holding
When a licensee seeks a declaratory judgment against a patentee that its products do not infringe the licensed patent, the patentee bears the burden of persuasion on the issue of infringement.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinion
MajorityBreyer, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
28 U.S.C. § 1338 (district court jurisdiction over patents), 28 U.S.C. § 2201 (power to issue declaratory judgment)

Medtronic, Inc. v. Mirowski Family Ventures, LLC, 571 U.S. 191 (2014), is a case of the Supreme Court of the United States that deals with civil procedure, and specifically with the question of the burden of proof required in pursuing declaratory judgments.