Supreme Court Rules on Patents

In a decision that should please American manufacturers that feed into the global supply chain, the U.S. Supreme Court has narrowly interpreted a law that imposes patent liability on components made in the U.S. for assembly overseas.

A unanimous court reversed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, ruling that shipping a single component cannot trigger a provision of Section 271(f) of the Patent Act.

Agilent Technologies, which filed an amicus brief in the case, said the Federal Circuit’s interpretation “reduces flexibility, increases risk and cost of U.S. manufacturing, and threatens to penalize U.S. manufacturing of components.”

Source: Law.com