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Full-Text Articles in Intellectual Property Law
Total Patent Exhaustion!, Samuel F. Ernst
Total Patent Exhaustion!, Samuel F. Ernst
Publications
The exhaustion doctrine generally provides that when a patent holder sells or authorizes another party to sell a patented item, the patent rights in that item are exhausted, and the patent holder cannot pursue that product down the stream of commerce to demand royalties from each party that subsequently acquires the item. Patent holders have often sought to evade patent exhaustion by drafting licensing agreements attending or authorizing the sale of their patented products that place restrictions on the use of the patented item or otherwise provide that no patent exhaustion has occurred. In Impression Products v. Lexmark, the Supreme …
Why Patent Exhaustion Should Liberate Products (And Not Just People), Samuel F. Ernst
Why Patent Exhaustion Should Liberate Products (And Not Just People), Samuel F. Ernst
Publications
Patent exhaustion is a doctrine that excuses infringement where the patent holder has either authorized the sale of a patented item or licensed its use or sale. Absent an effective contractual restriction, the patent holder's rights in the patented item are exhausted and the patent holder cannot sue for infringement based on further use or resale of the item. This Article explores the question of whether patent exhaustion adheres in the patented device or if it is a defensive doctrine that only adheres to the benefit of particular parties. Traditionally courts have articulated the doctrine as liberating the accused product …
Patents Exhaustion For The Exhausted Defendant: Should Parties Be Able To Contract Around Exhaustion In Settling Patent Litigation?, Samuel F. Ernst
Patents Exhaustion For The Exhausted Defendant: Should Parties Be Able To Contract Around Exhaustion In Settling Patent Litigation?, Samuel F. Ernst
Publications
The first sale doctrine provides that when a patent holder unconditionally authorizes another party to sell a patented item, the patent holder's right to exclude with respect to the patented item is "exhausted. " The licensee can then sell the patented item to a third party - a downstream purchaser - and the patent holder will not be able to sue the third party for patent infringement based on the resale or other use of that item. A principal animating policy behind the exhaustion doctrine is to prevent patent holders from receiving overcompensation for their patented inventions by, for example, …