Intellectual Property Transactions Attorneys Co-Author IP Litigator Article on Federal Circuit Reaffirming Patent Exhaustion Rules

A May/June IP Litigator article co-authored by IP transactions partners David McIntosh (Boston) and associate Megan Baca (Silicon Valley) examines a recent en banc Federal Circuit case reaffirming the Circuit’s longstanding patent exhaustion doctrine in the face of recent analogous Supreme Court cases suggesting that may be under pressure. 

The Federal Circuit recently reaffirmed its view that U.S. patent rights may not be exhausted simply through a foreign sale of a patented good, with its decision underscoring the current importance of including explicit import and export restrictions on foreign sales of patented goods. This view is contrary to recent analogous Supreme Court case law, though, and the co-authors note that a U.S. Supreme Court certiorari petition is probable given the high court’s recent focus on the Federal Circuit.