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The Courts' Interpretations Of Legitimate Business Purposes, With Applications To Lexmark, 16 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 411 (2017), W. Lesser

UIC Review of Intellectual Property Law

Courts frequently must assess 'intent'. This article applies to the interpretation the intent of "legitimate business purposes" as a justification for restrictive use licensing agreements for patented products. Generally, the 'first sale' doctrine terminates the use rights of the patent holder. However, if the sale is conditioned on some use limitations and violators of those terms are liable for infringement. The courts, suggested in Mitchell v. Hawley (1872) and formalized in Mallinckrodt v. Medipart (1992), have allowed use restrictions based on license terms. Restrictions are disallowed under the affirmative defense of patent invalidity, such as from an antitrust violation. This …