Taken from the briefing Bowman v. Monsanto: Supreme Court Reinforces the Limits of the “Patent Exhaustion” Defense recorded May, 2013.On May 13, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court released its unanimous decision in
Bowman v. Monsanto Co. and reinforced the limits of the “patent exhaustion” doctrine. In its decision, the Supreme Court held that the patent exhaustion doctrine did not shield Indiana farmer Vernon Bowman’s unauthorized planting of Monsanto Co.’s Roundup Ready® soybean seeds from a claim of patent infringement. In applying the doctrine in this field of "self-replicating plant technology," the Supreme Court explained that the patent exhaustion doctrine does not permit alleged infringers to “make” copies of patented technology, even if the alleged infringer did so only by “using” a bona fide purchased patented article.
This briefing was conducted by Nicholas K. Mitrokostas and Theresa C. Kavanaugh, partners in the law firm Goodwin Procter LLP. Mr. Mitrokostas focuses his practice on intellectual property litigation, particularly with respect to patent litigation and has handled numerous patent infringement lawsuits in federal courts nationwide. Ms. Kavanaugh focuses her practice on intellectual property counseling, transactions, and prosecution in biotechnology and life sciences.
Lecture Topics [Total Time: 01:03:25]
- A review of the Supreme Court’s decision in Bowman
- A review of the patent exhaustion doctrine
- The application of the patent exhaustion doctrine to other fields, including patented inventions involving other self-replicating technologies
Presentation Material
- Bowman v. Monsanto: Supreme Court Reinforces the Limits of the "Patent Exhaustion" Defense
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