[20191211]LSB10348_收费与否：最高法院将考虑专利纠纷中的律师费.pdf

CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i To Fee or Not to Fee: Supreme Court to Consider Attorneys Fees in Patent Disputes Updated December 11, 2019 UPDATE (December 11, 2019): On December 11, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Peter v. NantKwest, Inc. Justice Sotomayors opinion for a unanimous court held that the United States Patent and Trademark Office is not entitled to recover the salaries of its legal personnel under 35 U.S.C. 145. The Court reasoned that 145 implicates the American Rules presumption that each side pays for its own attorneys, and that it had “never suggested that any statute is exempt from the presumption against fee shifting.” The Court then held that 145s use of the term “expenses” was not a sufficiently clear indication that Congress intended to depart from the American Rule presumption. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The original post on Peter v. NantKwest, from October 3, 2019, is reproduced below. When a court case is over, who pays the attorneys? Under the “American Rule,” the presumption in the United States is that eac