AAI Urges Supreme Court to Reaffirm "First Sale" Doctrine in Patent Law

11/13/2007

In an amicus brief filed today in Quanta Computer, Inc., et al. v. LG Electronics, Inc., AAI urged the Supreme Court to reject the so-called "conditional sale" doctrine adopted by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. The brief argues that the conditional sale doctrine is inconsistent with the venerable "first sale doctrine," is bad policy because it creates uncertainty for downstream purchasers, allows for enforcement of conditions as a matter of patent infringement that may not be enforceable under contract law, and tends to restrict the proper application of the antitrust laws.  AAI's brief was written by Shubha Ghosh, a law professor and expert on intellectual property and antitrust. Click here for a copy of the brief in Adobe Acrobat format.