Commil USA, Llc v. Cisco Systems, Inc.
Decided May 26, 2015. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 13-896 · 575 U.S. 632 (2015) · Cited 277 times
Holding
A defendant's belief regarding patent validity is not a defense to an induced infringement claim.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 6–2.
Majority · 6
- Anthony McLeod Kennedy · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Clarence Thomas
- Elena Kagan
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Samuel A. Alito Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor
Dissenting · 2
- Antonin Scalia · filed a dissenting opinion
- John Glover Roberts Jr.
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S. A. · 563 U.S. 754 (2011)
- Cardinal Chemical Co. v. Morton International, Inc. · 508 U.S. 83 (1993)
- Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. Partnership · 564 U.S. 91 (2011)
- Deposit Guaranty National Bank v. Roper · 445 U.S. 326 (1980)
- Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A. · 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
- Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co. · 377 U.S. 476 (1964)
- Ebay Inc. v. Mercexchange, L. L. C. · 547 U.S. 388 (2006)
- Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
- MedImmune, Inc. v. Genentech, Inc. · 549 U.S. 118 (2007)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Cheek v. United States · 498 U.S. 192 (1991)
- Crown Die & Tool Co. v. Nye Tool & MacHine Works · 261 U.S. 24 (1923)
- Radio Corp. of America v. Radio Engineering Laboratories, Inc. · 293 U.S. 1 (1934)
- F.T.C. v. Actavis, Inc. · 570 U.S. 136 (2013)
Official text
Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)
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Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2015). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).