Quanta Brief - Andrew Chipouras

Andrew Chipouras

Supreme Court of the United States. QUANTA COMPUTER, INC., Et Al., Petitioners, v. LG ELECTRONICS, INC., Et Al., Respondents. No. 06-937. November 13, 2007. On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Brief of the Biotechnology Industry Organization as Amicus Curiae in Support of Neither Party

QUESTION PRESENTED:

Whether patent rights are exhausted by a licensee's authorized sale of a patented product to an authorized purchaser, where that product has no reasonable use other than in practicing the patented invention

Summary:

-Biotechnology provides life-saving medical treatments and diagnostic procedures as well as many other important scientific advances.

-Every day biotechnology companies are engaged in inventing, discovering, and developing new tests, drugs, cures and products that improve our lives

-The research and development process is particularly long for biotech firms

-Universities and biotech start up companies often engage in mutually beneficial licensing agreements

-Patents of biotech companies often require sensitive applications of the patent laws

-Patents in many cases become the primary asset of biotech companies

-First sale occurences between universities and biotechnology companies should not get in the way of protecting these assets