Return Mail, Inc. v. Postal Service

Return Mail sued the U.S. Postal Service for patent infringement, and the Postal Service tried to challenge the patent through a review process created by the America Invents Act. On June 10, 2019, the Supreme Court decided that the federal government is not a "person" allowed to start that kind of patent review proceeding under the law.

The Court decided on June 10, 2019 that the federal government is not a "person" that may petition for review under the America Invents Act. The prompt does not provide the vote count or opinion lineup.

The decision limits how federal agencies can fight issued patents. For example, an agency accused of patent infringement cannot use these America Invents Act review procedures if the statute reserves them to a "person."

The Supreme Court has finished this case. The practical result is that the Postal Service could not use that review path against Return Mail's patent, and similar disputes must proceed under other available patent rules.

The case asked whether the federal government counts as a "person" under the America Invents Act. That mattered because only a "person" may start certain patent review proceedings.

Federal agencies have fewer tools to challenge issued patents through these review proceedings. Patent owners suing the government may face a different litigation path than private companies do.

There was no further Supreme Court step on this docket action. The case returned to the ordinary patent dispute process with the Court's interpretation in place.