Get Your Ink Cartridges Refilled, Supreme Court Rules Not Illegal

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Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of consumers in a 7-to-1 decision on a printer ink case that has ramifications on how third-party companies can build businesses that service bigger companies’ product lines. It came down to the rights of a patent-holder after its product is sold — in this case, can printer-maker Lexmark stop a third-party company from refilling its ink cartridges. [Consumerist, SCOTUSBlog]

Looking for a landmark ruling on patent exhaustion, the patent community got just that in the Supreme Court’s decision this morning in Impression Products, Inc. v Lexmark International, Inc. The court has been deciding a steady diet of patent cases for much of the last decade and has been rejecting

Source: Opinion analysis: Federal Circuit loses again, as justices categorically reject enforcement of post-sale patent restrictions – SCOTUSblog

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