In a brief, unanimous opinion written by Justice Kagan, the Supreme Court yesterday agreed with Monsanto that the patent exhaustion doctrine does not enable farmers to replant and reproduce patented seeds without the patentee’s permission. The Court emphasized the well-established rule that the doctrine restricts a patentee’s rights only as to the particular articles sold, and leaves untouched the patentee’s ability to prevent a buyer from making new copies of the patented item.

The Court did expressly note that its holding was limited – addressing the situation before it, rather than every one involving a self-replicating product. “In another case, the article’s self-replication might occur outside the purchaser’s control. Or it might be an incidental step in using the item for another purpose . . . . We need not address here whether or how the doctrine of patent exhaustion would apply in such circumstances.”

I covered the patent exhaustion doctrine previously – see, for example, here, here, and here.

The decision likely has implications in other industries. For example, BSA/The Software Alliance filed a brief arguing that a contrary decision might “facilitate software piracy on a broad scale” because software can be easily duplicated. However, it also noted that a decision that went too in favor of protecting patent rights might unduly encourage nuisance software patent infringement suits.

The opinion, styled Bowman v. Monsanto Co., No. 11-796 (May 13, 2013), is available here.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Professor Michael Carrier has written a recent op-ed over at arstechnica suggesting that the answer is “yes.”  Highlights:

“To start, [the antitrust agencies] can challenge concerning aggregations of patents . . . . [M]assive patent portfolios can be used offensively and can be valuable because of their size rather than the validity of each patent. These portfolios can have anticompetitive effects, including holdup, raised rivals’ costs, increased price, and reduced innovation.”

“The agencies could also promote transparency. Much troll activity today is hidden beneath a labyrinth of shell companies . . . .  Given this, how could potential targets engage in licensing negotiations or evaluate patent portfolios? The agencies must be able to shine sunlight on this subterranean network, obtaining complete information from patent acquisitions, among other conduct, to determine competitive effects.”

“It seems particularly slippery for trolls to avoid promises made by their predecessors. The agencies could prohibit transfers to trolls that refuse to adhere to promises to keep licensing costs reasonable.”

The article discusses other ideas as well, and also suggests that Section 5 of the FTC Act could be used where “certain trolls have market power in technology (licensing) markets, do not offer non-trivial efficiencies, and cause competitive harm that results in higher prices or reduced innovation for consumers.”

(Note: some people prefer the term “patent assertion entities,” or PAEs, over the term “trolls.”)

Related articles

• Op-ed: Antitrust regulators ponder patent trolls – but they need to act
• It’s time to take action against patent trolls and patent privateering
• What Exactly Does Intellectual Ventures Do That Seems to Bother (Some) People?

OneTouch Ultra2 is being used by a diabetic patient. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In LifeScan, Inc. v. Shasta Technologies, LLC, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38677 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2013), Judge Davila granted plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction to address claims of patent infringement, and addressed whether patent exhaustion doctrine applies to free distribution of product or to discounted distribution of only one component of a product.

I previously covered patent exhaustion doctrine here.  In a nutshell, the patent monopoly is exhausted after a patentee sells the patented invention in whole, or under certain circumstances, in part. (A license to use technology in a certain field of use, however, generally does not trigger the exhaustion doctrine, also known as the first sale doctrine.)

In LifeScan, the plaintiff markets and sells the “OneTouch Ultra System,” a glucose monitoring system. The system is composed of both a meter and disposable test strips. A patent covering “DoubleSure Technology” specifies a method designed to improve the reliability and accuracy of glucose measurements. The technology uses a self-testing strip design using multiple sensors.

Defendants made strips for use in the OneTouch Ultra System (thus prompting the patent suit), and argued that LifeScan’s patent rights were exhausted for two reasons. The court rejected each argument.

First, LifeScan has doctors distribute free OneTouch Ultra kits, comprised of meters and test strips, to diabetic patients. The court held – at least at the preliminary injunction stage – that LifeScan could likely show that this free distribution did not exhaust its patent rights. LifeScan receives no remuneration at the moment it parts with the patented invention. The fact that LifeScan distributes the kits in consideration of patients’ anticipated future repeat purchases of disposable test strips was not enough. According to the court, the common theme running through prior case law – which did not squarely address the issue before the court – was that there must be consideration at the time of the authorized sale in order for the patent exhaustion doctrine to attach.

Second, LifeScan sells OneTouch Ultra meters alone at a reduced price. But this practice too, the court held, likely does not trigger patent exhaustion, because the patent at issue is a method patent that requires both a meter and a test strip for an individual to practice it. “As such, the sale of the meter by itself does not necessarily convey the entire invention of the . . . patent to the purchaser, casting the applicability of exhaustion into doubt.”

The decision reaches the appropriate result – patent rights should not be lost merely because of a novel distribution system, one that is likely pro-competitive because it fosters dissemination of new technology.