Google challenge to ‘settled expectations’ patent policy turned away in US
By Melissa Ritti ( October 19, 2026, 14:39 GMT | Insight) -- In its Monday orders list, the US Supreme Court passed on a petition for writ of certiorari by Google which sought to test whether the US Patent and Trademark Office can rely on patent owners’ “settled expectations" to deny administrative patent review and whether courts can examine the policy’s legality. That the request failed to curry favor with at least four of the court’s nine justices could signal trouble for others asking for increased judicial scrutiny of office discretion.The US Supreme Court’s rejection Monday of Google’s challenge to the US Patent and Trademark Office’s settled-expectations policy delivers a setback to efforts to scrutinize the agency’s patent review criteria but leaves four alternative petitions pending....
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