Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp.

Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 6, 2016 Decided February 22, 2017
Full case name	Life Technologies Corporation, et al., Petitioners v. Promega Corporation
Docket no.	14–1538
Citations	580 U.S. ___ (more) 137 S. Ct. 734; 197 L. Ed. 2d 33; 121 U.S.P.Q.2d 1641
Case history
Prior	Promega Corp. v. Life Techs. Corp., 773 F.3d 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2014); cert. granted, 136 S. Ct. 2505 (2016).
Procedural	On writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Holding
The sale of a single component of a patented invention in a foreign market does not give rise to liability under the Patent Act of 1952.
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor Elena Kagan
Case opinions
Majority	Sotomayor, joined by Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan; Thomas, Alito (all but Part II–C)
Concurrence	Alito (in part), joined by Thomas
Roberts took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
Patent Act of 1952, 35 U.S.C. § 271 et seq.

Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp., 580 U.S. ___ (2017), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court clarified the application of the Patent Act of 1952 to the sale of components of patented inventions in foreign markets.^[1] In an opinion written by Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court held that the sale of a "single component" in a foreign market "does not constitute a substantial portion of the components that can give rise to liability under [the Patent Act of 1952]."^[2] Justice Samuel Alito wrote an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which he was joined Justice Clarence Thomas.^[3] Chief Justice John Roberts took no part in the decision of the case.^[4]

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases
• Lists of United States Supreme Court cases by volume
• List of United States Supreme Court cases by the Roberts Court

References

1. Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp., No. 14-1538, 580 U.S. ___ (2017), slip. op. at 1.
2. Life Technologies Corp., slip op. at 1, 11 (citing 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(1)).
3. Life Technologies Corp., slip op. at 1 (Alito, J., concurring in part and concurring in the judgment).
4. Life Technologies Corp., slip op. at 11.

External links

• Text of Life Technologies Corp. v. Promega Corp., 580 U.S. ___ (2017) is available from: Justia Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion)