Supreme Court finds for Quanta in patent exhaustion case
09 June 2008
Eileen McDermott, New York
The Supreme Court today issued its much-anticipated decision in Quanta Computer v LG Electronics, finding in favour of Quanta and clarifying US law on the doctrine of patent exhaustion, which the Court had not considered since 1942
Though a win for Quanta was somewhat expected, the decision could have an impact on existing patent licence agreements, as well as the way patentees draft and negotiate royalties for licences going forward. The case relates to suits filed by LG Electronics in 2000 and 2001 alleging that Quanta and other computer makers infringed several of its patents for microprocessor chips in personal computers. LG had licensed the patents to Intel, which then sold the chips to the computer companies. However, the licence agreement did not expressly authorize Intel’s customers to combine the chips with non-Intel products, which Quanta did. In December 2004, a trial court ruled in favour of Quanta and other manufacturers, citing the doctrine of patent exhaustion, also commonly known as the "first sale" doctrine. Under...
Only subscribers have complete access to Managing IP Magazine,
log in or
subscribe now.
Alternatively take a
free trial, giving you 48-hour access to Managing IP Magazine (some articles and surveys may be excluded).
Subscribe Now
This article is available to subscribers. Please click subscribe to read the rest of the article.
Subscribe
Take a free trial
Please take a free 48-hour trial to gain limited access. Some articles and surveys may be excluded.
Take a free trial