Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp
The US Supreme Court ruled on April 30 that Microsoft cannot be forced to pay for patent infringement which has occurred when copies of Windows are made or installed on computers abroad. 
Excerpt:
It is the general rule under United States patent law that no infringement occurs when a patented product is made and sold in another country. There is an exception. Section 271(f) of the Patent Act,adopted in 1984, provides that infringement does occur when one “suppl[ies] . . . from the United States,” for “combination” abroad, apatented invention’s “components.” 35 U. S. C. §271(f)(1). This case concerns the applicability of §271(f) to computer software first sentfrom the United States to a foreign manufacturer on a master disk,or by electronic transmission, then copied by the foreign recipient for installation on computers made and sold abroad.
Read the opinion here.
See an overview of the case here.
Posted by Jon Lutz
