Federal Circuit: Breach of open source license conditions can lead to copyright infringement In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit addressed some of the copyright issues involved with the open source movement. Often open source software is distributed under a so-called copyleft license, which permits others to use the work, subject to certain restrictions. The GNU general public license is the most well-known of these licenses. The license […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Termination of rights allows Lassie to come home to author’s heir In a decision last week, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's denial of summary judgment in a copyright case. The district court held the heir of an author had, by agreement, "given away" the termination right granted by 17 U.S.C. § 304(c).The Ninth Circuit reversed, stating that the district court had gone against the […] Continue Reading →
Consent judgment with no explanation of how claim construction affected noninfringement vacated In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit vacated a consent judgment entered by a district court and remanded the case for clarification. The district court entered a consent judgment, stipulated by the parties, stating the defendants' products did not infringe under the district court's claim construction of several terms, but that the plaintiff could still […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Patent law terms in employment agreement should be given patent law definitions In a recent decision, the Ninth Circuit held a district court's jury instructions regarding construction of the patent ownership provisions of an employment agreement erred in applying contract law rather than patent law. The court determined that jury instructions defining the terms "conceive," "reduce to practice," and "Work of Dr. Yu" (a possible coinventor) required […] Continue Reading →
Roundup of media coverage of Quanta v. LG decision The media and legal blogs have begun to weigh in on yesterday's decision in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. , holding method claims can be exhausted by the sale of a product substantially embodying the claim. Click below for a sampling of the coverage from various sources. Media New York Times Wall Street […] Continue Reading →
Quanta v. LG: Method claims can be exhausted; harder to assert infringement later in distribution The Supreme Court today decided Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc., dealing with the doctrine of patent exhaustion (also called the first sale doctrine). In a nutshell, the Court made it more difficult for patent holders to maintain a claim for infringement down the distribution chain of a product. There were three main aspects […] Continue Reading →
Suprme Court provides unanimous decision in Quanta v. LG: Federal Circuit reversed This morning the Supreme Court decided Quanta v. LG, reversing the Federal Circuit's decision. We'll post a link to the decision (written by Justice Thomas) as soon as it's available. Continue Reading →
Today’s opinion in Quanta v. LG now available The opinion of the Court in Quanta Computer, Inc. v. LG Electronics, Inc. is now available here. Thanks to SCOTUSBlog for making a copy of the decision available online. Update (10:45): The closing paragraph of the decision is a good, concise summary: The authorized sale of an article that substantially embodies a patent exhausts the […] Continue Reading →
No lost profits when patent owned by parent but practiced by subsidiary In a decision this week, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary judgment in the damages phase of a patent infringement case denying recovery for lost profits. The patentee's wholly-owned subsidiary actually practiced the claimed invention, but the subsidiary paid a standard license royalty to the patentee for use of the invention, […] Continue Reading →
License under method patent not limited to use with licensor’s products absent express limitation In a decision Wednesday, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, vacated-in-part, and reversed-in-part a district court's decision regarding two patents. The district court held the broadest claims of both patents invalid and not infringed, and dismissed claims of inequitable conduct relating to the patents. The Federal Circuit affirmed with respect to one patent, but vacated and reversed […] Continue Reading →