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Intel files “Friend of the Court” Brief at the United States Supreme Court in the patent case, Impression Products, Inc. vs. Lexmark International, Inc.

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thumbnail-copy.jpgOn January 24, 2017, Intel filed an amicus brief  at the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the patent exhaustion doctrine in Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc., requesting that the Supreme Court reverse the lower court’s decision.  The doctrine holds that an authorized sale of a patented good exhausts all of the patent holder’s patent rights in that good.  The lower court’s decision in this case, however, announced unwarranted exceptions to this rule that are without legal basis and threaten to cause disruption to the patent system, particularly with respect to the high technology sector.  High technology products often are covered by hundreds, if not thousands of patents, and most contain components that are designed in one country, manufactured in another, assembled in another, and then shipped as finished products around the world.  Under the decision below, a patent owner could sell its technology for use in such a component, and then turn around and sue for infringement when the ultimate finished product hits the United States.  Intel’s amicus brief was joined by Dell Corporation and Vizio.