Court Hears Arguments in Microsoft’s Appeal of Patent Case - NYTimes.com

Interesting times in the Microsoft/i4i challenge review

Some justices suggested that the court’s precedents were at odds with Microsoft’s position. The federal government supported the Canadian software company, i4i Limited Partnership, that had won in the lower courts.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. was recused from the case, apparently because he owns Microsoft stock, meaning that Microsoft would have to capture five of only eight available votes to win.

[…]

Near the end of the argument in the case, Microsoft Corporation v. i4i Limited Partnership, No. 10-290, Justice Breyer still sounded frustrated.

“What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to get a better tool, if possible, to separate the sheep from the goats,” he said. “And so what is that better tool?”

Court Hears Arguments in Microsoft’s Appeal of Patent Case - NYTimes.com