RT Media Files Amicus Brief with US Courts Over Landmark Decision

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 RT Media Files Amicus Brief with US Courts Over Landmark Decision
(Washington DC, 25 June 2015): Recycling Times Media (RT Media), together with international, iconic brands including Google, Samsung and Intel, has filed its own amicus, or friend of the court, brief with the US Federal Circuit (USFC).

 

The amicus brief, prepared by highly recommended Washington DC-based patent attorney Merritt Blakeslee, supports an ongoing case between Impression Products and Lexmark International over the patent rights of cartridges after they have been first sold.

On April 14, the panel of 3 USFC judges overseeing the case, which involves existing Jazz Photo and Mallinckrodt patent laws, decided to call for a rare en banc, or full bench, hearing of all 17 USFC judges. They sensed that there was potential for a radical change to existing laws that potentially impact a much wider array of American industries. That full bench hearing, which has been announced for October 2, will hear oral arguments from both sides, but will also be persuaded by the various amicus briefs that have been submitted.

Twenty companies met last week’s June 19 deadline and filed separate amicus briefs with the USFC, to see restrictive patent rights overturned on the first sale of cartridges outside the USA, and prebate (also known as ‘shrinkwap’ licenses) cartridges sold inside the United States. Other companies, from a wide range of industries and professional organisations, include the American Retailers Association, the International Imaging Technology Council, Intel, Google, CostCo and Samsung. The patent attorney heading the Impression Products argument, Ed O’Connor, expects the Solicitor General’s submission, detailing the government’s position, due to be filed Monday, June 29, will also support his case.

O’Connor told RT Media he was pleased at the bigger than expected response, but is not surprised.  “This has become an en banc case,” he explained. “So it means the court is seriously considering changing fundamental law. Up until now the Jazz Photo and Mallinckrodt laws have been well set but that could all change.”
[You can watch RT Media’s exclusive interview with O’Connor at https://vimeo.com/131521337.

Washington DC-based attorney Merritt Blakeslee was engaged by RT Media, to file an amicus brief with the USFC. Following consultation with both OEMs and the Aftermarket in the global imaging industry, RT Media was compelled to provide argument for what it sees as a historical, landmark hearing of the USFC, irrespective of the outcome. Blakeslee concurs with RT Media’s point of view. He says unfair patent laws should be overturned. In the amicus brief prepared on behalf of RT Media Blakeslee argues that the Court’s 2001 decision to uphold Jazz Photo patent law “was a radical, unexplained departure from the century-old rule that the patent exhaustion doctrine is not territorially limited.” He continues, “Jazz Photo is fundamentally at odds with the patent exhaustion doctrine’s goal of restraining competition while encouraging innovation.” The brief argues the authorized sale of patented articles outside of the United States, no less than the sale of that same article within the United States, fulfills the fundamental purpose of the patent exhaustion doctrine, encouraging innovation while avoiding monopolies.
[You can watch RT Media’s exclusive interview with Blakeslee at https://vimeo.com/131636988

Following consultations with both OEM and Aftermarket printer cartridge manufacturers, RT Media was compelled to submit an amicus, or ‘friend of the court’, brief to the US Federal Circuit hearing on restrictive patent rights laws. RT Media’s resident cartoonist, Berto, sees the funny side of what may become a historic, landmark ruling by the full bench of the US Federal Circuit:

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June 30, 2015 at 12:38 PM