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Supreme Court to Reconsider Patent Exhaustion
May a patent owner sue its own licensee's customers when those customers purchase essential components that have no reasonable non-infringing use from the licensee, and then combine those components with others to form a patented product? The answer may be decided by the Supreme Court in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., U.S., No. 06-937, cert. granted Sept. 25, 2007.
Under the doctrine of Patent Exhaustion, an unconditional sale of a patented product by the patent owner exhausts the owner's patent rights to the product, and the purchaser may then use or resell the product free and clear of those rights. However, the applicability of the doctrine is unclear when a patent owner attempts to retain certain rights, e.g., by requiring its licensee to condition its sales. After requesting and obtaining an amicus curiae brief from the Solicitor General, the Supreme Court granted Quanta Computer, Inc.'s ('Quanta') petition for certiorari and will address the issue this term.
Why So Many Great Lawyers Stink at Business Development and What Law Firms Are Doing About It
Why is it that those who are best skilled at advocating for others are ill-equipped at advocating for their own skills and what to do about it?
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.
Blockchain Domains: New Developments for Brand Owners
Blockchain domain names offer decentralized alternatives to traditional DNS-based domain names, promising enhanced security, privacy and censorship resistance. However, these benefits come with significant challenges, particularly for brand owners seeking to protect their trademarks in these new digital spaces.