Jan 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected Merck & Co Inc's bid to revive a $2.54 billion jury verdict it won against rival drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc for infringing a patent in a dispute over a blockbuster hepatitis C treatment.

The justices declined to take up Merck's appeal of a lower court's ruling that overturned the massive damages verdict after finding that Merck's patent was invalid. (Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)