Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics: Reviving exhaustion, applying it to method patents
Posted on August 20, 2008 - Filed Under Law | Leave a Comment
In the case Quanta Computer v. LG Electronics, ___ U.S. ____, 128 S.Ct. 2109 (2008), the United States Supreme Court clarifies and expands upon its holding in United States v. Univis Lens Co. In Quanta, the court clarified that the same analysis applies to process or method patents, not just product patents: When a component substantially embodies the process and cannot be used for any purpose other than to practice the patent, the process patent is exhausted upon sale of that component. The decision makes it more difficult for patentees to extract royalties from multiple parties for the same device.
Read More..>>Supreme Court To Review Controversial Patent Ruling
Posted on February 29, 2008 - Filed Under Legal and Law | Leave a Comment
It is deja vu all over again, as the Supreme Court once again has agreed to review a controversial patent ruling of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The issue this time: whether a patent owner’s rights were exhausted by a license agreement and subsequent sale of product pursuant to the license.
With the Supreme Court’s 2007 decisions in KSR v. Teleflex and MedImmune v. Genentech and its 2006 decision in eBay v. MercExchange, it has reshaped the landscape of patent law by rejecting the views of the Federal Circuit - the very court that was established to help bring uniformity to patent law. Now the nation’s highest court has an opportunity to do that again.
Read More..>>