CCIA Hails Supreme Courts’ Unanimous Decision to Repair Patent Injunctions

File Under: 2006, Copyright

Jun 15, 2006

For Immediate Release

"The Court's opinion wisely imposes a measure of reason on the dysfunctional patent system,” said Ed Black, President and CEO of the Computer & Communications Industry Association. CCIA has highlighted the Federal Circuit’s activism to the Supreme Court in amicus briefs on eBay v. MercExchange (05-130), as well as other intellectual property rights cases, and applauds the Court for clamping down on the Federal Circuit's wayward jurisprudence. CCIA believes this opinion should restore normality to injunction practice while assuaging the concerns of the pharmaceutical industry and independent inventors. Almost as importantly Black continued, “four of the Justices recognize that today’s complex, high-tech products and services can be held hostage by a handful of overly aggressive litigants. This may prove to be a watershed moment for our industry.”

The Court rejected the Federal Circuit's judicially manufactured patent-specific rule that an injunction should be entered upon a finding of infringement. Instead, the Court applied the traditional analysis applied to injunctions in virtually every other area of law. Justice Thomas's unanimous opinion for the Court reflects how far from the mainstream Federal Circuit jurisprudence has gone.

CCIA is encouraged by the concurrence of four Justices citing the unbalanced state of the patent system as a relevant factor in analyzing injunctions. Citing the Federal Trade Commission's landmark report on patent system dysfunctions, Justices Kennedy, Stevens, Souter, and Breyer reference patent trolls, the "potential vagueness and suspect validity" of controversial business method patents, and the fact that a single patented component can hold up an entire complex product line.

The Court's opinion also undermines the latest legal fad: construing intellectual property rights as indistinguishable from real property. The Court noted that IP rights may have attributes of personal property, "but the creation of a right is distinct from the provision of remedies for violations of that right." Thus, IP rights remain entirely subject to the provisions of the federal law by which they are created.

Contact: Will Rodger, 202-783-0070 ext. 105