The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in a long-running patent battle, refusing to hear an inventor’s attempt to overturn a $214,000 sanctions order imposed for bad-faith litigation and upheld by the Federal Circuit.
High Court Declines to Reopen Sanctions Fight
In a brief order list, the justices rejected a petition filed by Clifford A. Lowe and his company Spota LLC, who sought relief from sanctions ordered by an Ohio federal court in their patent infringement suit involving a type of marking tape.
The sanctions stem from litigation against ShieldMark Inc. and other companies accused of infringing a patent covering the tape technology.
A Case That Keeps Coming Back
Disputes arising from Lowe and Spota’s patent enforcement efforts have cycled through the Federal Circuit multiple times. In 2022, the appeals court revived their lawsuit after faulting the lower court’s claim construction, ruling that the flawed interpretation had underpinned a noninfringement finding and warranted a remand.
But the momentum shifted again in March, when the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s conclusion on remand that the patent was invalid as anticipated. At the same time, it upheld the $214,000 attorney-fee award, finding no clear error in the lower court’s determination that the plaintiffs had pursued the case in bad faith.
The appeals court reiterated that stance in September, declining to revisit the sanctions after having already approved them.
