Infringement of a U.S. patent has traditionally been limited to activities performed within the United States, and is an important consideration for protecting key technology. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that shipping a single, key component of a patented product overseas cannot be an infringement. In the dispute, Life Technologies v. Promega, an overseas licensee was accused of exceeding the scope of its license. Taking a “quantitative approach,” the Court held that a “single component” is not “substantial portion” of the invention under Section §271(f)(1).
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