February 22, 2017
Forbes
The Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Life Technologies v. Promega, a case that involved exporting a commonly used laboratory chemical that had been combined into a patented product overseas. The Court reversed the Federal Circuit's decision, ruling that a single commodity can't trigger patent liability because that doesn’t comply with the requirement that an infringer export "all or a substantial portion" of the "components" needed to create a patented product. Forbes contacted Finnegan attorney Doris Johnson Hines for her thoughts on the decision.
Hines said that the decision somewhat clarifies the law, but still leaves substantial unanswered questions. While the court judged "components" by quantity and not their qualities, Hines said, "...it's unclear to me what a component of a claimed invention is." She added, "Lawyers can draft a patent to claim complex 'components' or break them down into smaller parts, for example, claiming the touchpad, handset, and cords of a telephone as part of a telephone videoconferencing system instead of just a telephone and a video monitor. [But] what if a company exported handsets and cords for use in an infringing videoconferencing system overseas? Would they meet the 'substantial portion' test where a single 'telephone' would not?"
Press Release
September 11, 2024
Announcement
Finnegan and Partner Daniel Chung Recognized by The National Law Journal
September 3, 2024
Announcement
September 3, 2024
Press Release
Finnegan Named a “True Trailblazer” for Its Continued Commitment to Mansfield Certification Process
August 16, 2024
Due to international data regulations, we’ve updated our privacy policy. Click here to read our privacy policy in full.
We use cookies on this website to provide you with the best user experience. By accepting cookies, you agree to our use of cookies. Please note that if you opt not to accept or if you disable cookies, the “Your Finnegan” feature on this website will be disabled as well. For more information on how we use cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.
Finnegan is thrilled to announce the launch of our new blog, Ad Law Buzz, devoted solely to breaking news, developments, trends, and analysis in advertising law.