As we approach the end of 2016, it’s a good time to look ahead to the cases that may have a significant impact on patent law in the coming year. Here is a preview of some of the important patent decisions on the Supreme Court’s docket for 2017.

Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp.

Over the last 15 years, the Federal Circuit has continued to expand the scope of the extraterritorial effect of U.S. patent law.

The Supreme Court announced Monday that it would agree to hear part of an appeal filed by Samsung seeking to overturn a $548 million damages award granted to Apple last year. Aside from finally closing the door on this five-year saga between Apple and Samsung, SCOTUS’s decision is newsworthy because it’s the first case before the Court involving design patents since 1894. See Dunlop v. Schofield, 152 U.S. 244 (1894).

The Court agreed to hear arguments regarding whether Samsung is liable for all profits from the sale of phones that infringed on Apple’s design patents, totaling $399 million dollars, or whether they are liable only for the portion of those profits attributable to the role those protected design elements played in actual phone sales.

On July 26, the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states must recognize same-sex marriage. The long awaited decision was 5-4, with Justice Kennedy casting the swing vote in favor of upholding same-sex unions. In his opinion for the majority, Kennedy wrote:

No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.