Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Texas

Re: Can a Federal Judge overturn a jury and rule a patent invalid.

A judge can overturn a jury verdict in state and federal courts. It is called a judgment non obstante verdicto (JNOV), Latin for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. It is made when the judge notes that there is no evidence to support a key element of the claim.

The attorney for the losing side usually makes the motion for JNOV, and may point out the missing element. A federal judge may make that determination on their own, without motion, if the missing piece is open and obvious.

The appellate court apparently found the same thing, as evident on the record. Since that's purely a determination of fact, no opinion would be necessary other than "Judgment is affirmed".

Re: Can a Federal Judge overturn a jury and rule a patent invalid.

Yes. A judge can overrule a jury's verdict in a case. The measure is whether, given the evidence, no reasonable person could give the verdict that was given by the jury in the case. This can happen in cases where the jury lets their emotions take over for their rationality, or in cases where the jury may not have properly understood the issues and the evidence in the case (as might have been the scenario in your case). The two rules of Federal Civil Procedure through which this may be implemented are as follows:

Judgment as Matter of Law (formerly �Directed Verdict�) � Motion for judgment as a matter of law allows judgment to be granted for either party if the evidence is such that reasonable persons could not disagree. Evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party (in your case, you would have been the non-moving party).

Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law (formerly "JNOV" - Judgment Non Obstante Veridicto) � A renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law, formerly known as a JNOV, may be filed no later than 10 days after entry of judgment (if a motion for judgment as a matter of law was made at the close of all evidence.)

And, of course, the Federal Appellate Court may affirm the Federal Trial Judge's verdict.

Your attorney has, no doubt, explained all of this to you.