From Deepsouth to the Great White North: The Extraterritorial Reach of United States Patent Law After Research in Motion

Authors

Daniel P. Homiller

Abstract

In the Internet age, complex telecommunications systems are often deployed with little regard for international borders. In NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion, Ltd., the Federal Circuit determined that one such system infringed several U.S. patents, despite the fact that an essential element of the system was located outside the territorial United States. This iBrief argues that the Federal Circuit erred in invoking the "control and beneficial use" test, which it culled from the very few prior cases addressing extraterritorial application of U.S. patent law. In doing so, the court disregarded the Supreme Court's direction in Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp. that the United States' patent laws make no claim to extraterritorial effect.

Citation

Daniel P. Homiller, From Deepsouth to the Great White North: The Extraterritorial Reach of United States Patent Law After Research in Motion, 4 Duke Law & Technology Review 1-17 (2005)