By Blake Brittain
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday turned away a patent dispute between labeling company Avery Dennison Corp and ADASA Inc that would have given it a chance to clarify a standard that critics have said has sown confusion about what inventions can be legally protected and led to cancellations of valid patents.
The justices declined to hear Avery Dennison’s appeal of a lower court’s decision upholding a patent involving tracking tags that was the subject of a $62.4 million infringement award won by ADASA in a lawsuit brought in Oregon.
The justices have not explored the question of patent eligibility since 2014, rebuffing various requests to take up the issue.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)
