The U.S. Supreme Court has once again asked for the solicitor general’s views on standing to appeal USPTO decisions on the validity of patents. This time it’s in the context of litigation between Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Corp.

Apple and Qualcomm struck a global settlement of their worldwide patent and antitrust litigation on the first day of trial in San Diego federal court in 2019. The deal provided that Apple could continue to proceed with a few existing patent validity challenges already pending before the U,S, Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board.