Wellness International Network, Limited v. Sharif

Decided May 26, 2015. Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 13-935 · 575 U.S. 665 (2015) · Cited 547 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 6–3.

“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.

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Schor · 478 U.S. 833 (1986)
• Northern Pipeline Construction Co. v. Marathon Pipe Line Co. · 458 U.S. 50 (1982)
• Peretz v. United States · 501 U.S. 923 (1991)
• Plaut v. Spendthrift Farm, Inc. · 514 U.S. 211 (1995)
• Granfinanciera, S.A. v. Nordberg · 492 U.S. 33 (1989)
• Gomez v. United States · 490 U.S. 858 (1989)
• Roell v. Withrow · 538 U.S. 580 (2003)
• Thomas v. Union Carbide Agricultural Products Co. · 473 U.S. 568 (1985)
• Patton v. United States · 281 U.S. 276 (1930)
• Rent-A-Center, West, Inc. v. Jackson · 561 U.S. 63 (2010)
• Brady v. United States · 397 U.S. 742 (1970)
• Immigration & Naturalization Service v. Chadha · 462 U.S. 919 (1983)
• Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer · 343 U.S. 579 (1952)
• Whitman v. American Trucking Assns., Inc. · 531 U.S. 457 (2001)
• Bowsher v. Synar · 478 U.S. 714 (1986)
• Den Ex Dem. Murray v. Hoboken Land & Improvement Co. · 59 U.S. 272 (1856)
• Thompson v. Magnolia Petroleum Co. · 309 U.S. 478 (1940)
• Loving v. United States · 517 U.S. 748 (1996)
• Sampsell v. Imperial Paper & Color Corp. · 313 U.S. 215 (1941)
• Blakely v. Washington · 542 U.S. 296 (2004)
• Mistretta v. United States · 488 U.S. 361 (1989)
• Crowell v. Benson · 285 U.S. 22 (1932)
• Williams v. Florida · 399 U.S. 78 (1970)
• College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Education Expense Board · 527 U.S. 666 (1999)
• New York v. United States · 505 U.S. 144 (1992)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Katchen v. Landy · 382 U.S. 323 (1966)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• Sunshine Anthracite Coal Co. v. Adkins · 310 U.S. 381 (1940)
• Glidden Co. v. Zdanok · 370 U.S. 530 (1962)

Cited by

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

• Acheson Hotels, LLC v. Laufer · 601 U.S. 1 (2023)
• SEC v. Jarkesy · 603 U.S. 109 (2024)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Sonia Sotomayor’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).