U.S. Patent Laws Being Tested

U.S. patent attorney Ed O’Connor says the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision on a blood glucose monitoring system has ramifications for the aftermarket cartridge industry.

O’Connor has told Recycling Times, the Lifescan vs Shasta case, settled in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on November 4, 2013, is one of the most significant Federal Circuit cases since Jazz Photo because it confirms copyrights are as lawful as patent rights.

“In my opinion,” say O’Connor, “this not only increases the likelihood of Impression Products succeeding—a case I currently represent in the first sale doctrine litigation brought on them by Lexmark—in the District Court in Cincinnati, but also makes it highly likely that we would succeed on any case taken to the Federal Circuit on appeal.” O’Connor says the Lifescan vs Shasta case has become his “Exhibit A” because it used “almost the exact reasoning, and in fact almost the exact wording” that he is using in the Cincinnati case.

The Lifescan vs Shasta case at the Federal Circuit also discussed the inappropriateness of using a patent to control the use of materials necessary for the proper use of the patented invention. O’Connor believes the judge’s decision re-addresses the issues where a printer patent holder uses its patents to control the purchase of ink or toner for use in those printers.

O’Connor believes the ramifications of this latest Federal Circuit decision may well open the door for future antitrust cases based upon patent misuse.

O’Connor reveals more in an article in looking behind this news in the next edition of Recycling Times Magazine, to be distributed digitally and in hard copy on January 1, 2014.