Promega Corp v. Life Technologies, Inc.

LifeTech sold genetic testing kits to detect the presence of “short tandem repeat” (STR) sequences of DNA. Its “STR kits,” were assembled in the United Kingdom and consisted of five components. At least one component was supplied from the U.S. Promega, the exclusive licensee of the U.S. “Tautz patent,” which expired in 2015 and claimed methods and kits for analyzing DNA to determine the identity and kinship of organisms, sued LifeTech for infringement. In 2014, the Federal Circuit held that a multi-component product assembled overseas could infringe a U.S. patent under 35 U.S.C. 271(f)(1)1 when only a single component is supplied from the U.S. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that section 271(f)(1) does not cover the supply of a single component of a multicomponent invention. On remand, the Federal Circuit first reaffirmed: that the asserted claims of four Promega patents were invalid for failure to comply with the enablement requirement, 35 U.S.C. 112; that certain of LifeTech’s alleged acts of infringement were not licensed under a license agreement between LifeTech and Promega; and that LifeTech was not required to “actively induce” a third party to combine the components of the accused products to be liable under section 271(f)(1)--that requirement could be met if LifeTech had the specific intent to combine the components itself. The court then reinstated the district court’s grant of judgment as a matter of law that Promega failed to prove infringement under 35 U.S.C. 271(a)3; 271(f)(1). View "Promega Corp v. Life Technologies, Inc." on Justia Law