May 2007

By David P. Irmscher and Abigail M. Butler

The Supreme Court recently changed the longstanding rules for obtaining a permanent injunction in patent infringement cases. eBay Inc. v. MercExchange LLC, 126 S.Ct. 1837 (2006). Prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling in eBay, it was generally accepted that a successful plaintiff in a patent infringement trial was entitled to a permanent injunction virtually automatically. The Federal Circuit’s rule was “courts will issue permanent injunctions against patent infringement absent exceptional circumstances.” The few exceptions to this rule were generally limited to situations where public health would be affected by enjoining the infringer.

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