11.   In a less-hallowed area, the high court will also consider a patent case that pits an inventor from suburban Dallas against a large electronics company.

12.   Increasingly, however, inventors have been asking for jury trials in patent cases.

13.   Kp The threat of blockbuster verdicts is a big reason many companies settle patent cases before trial, some attorneys say.

14.   Lilly officials said they would appeal the decision, but some legal analysts said it is extremely rare for the US Supreme Court to hear a patent case.

15.   Many patent lawyers predict that if it were judges, and not juries, doing more of the legal interpretation in patent cases, patentholders would win fewer cases.

16.   More than half of all patent cases are heard by juries.

17.   Much is at stake for technology companies in two patent cases under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

18.   One possibility is that the justices could give more authority to the judge to control the outcome of patent cases.

19.   Patent cases, they argue, are no more arcane than many other types of lawsuits, including antitrust and product liability disputes.

20.   Previously, patent cases had been heard in each district in quite inconsistent ways.