Helsinn Healthcare S. A. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc.

Decided January 22, 2019. Clarence Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 17-1229 · 586 U.S. 123 (2019) · Cited 45 times

Holding

The sale of an invention to a third party who is obligated to keep the invention confidential may place the invention “on sale” for purposes of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which bars a person from receiving a patent on an invention that was “in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention,” 35 U. S. C. §102(a)(1).

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 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

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.

• Pfaff v. Wells Electronics, Inc. · 525 U.S. 55 (1998)
• Bonito Boats, Inc. v. Thunder Craft Boats, Inc. · 489 U.S. 141 (1989)
• Federal Maritime Commission v. Seatrain Lines, Inc. · 411 U.S. 726 (1973)
• Smith & Griggs Manufacturing Co. v. Sprague · 123 U.S. 249 (1887)
• Holder v. Martinez Gutierrez · 566 U.S. 583 (2012)
• Shapiro v. United States · 335 U.S. 1 (1948)
• Elizabeth v. Pavement Co. · 97 U.S. 126 (1878)
• Consolidated Fruit-Jar Co. v. Wright · 94 U.S. 92 (1877)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Georgia v. Public Resource.Org, Inc. · 590 U.S. 255 (2020)
• Rehaif v. United States · 588 U.S. 225 (2019)
• Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media · 588 U.S. 427 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Clarence Thomas’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2019). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).