When you own a patent on a product, it offers you protection and allows you to go after people who would misuse that patent. However, the doctrine of exhaustion means that you do not have complete control over what someone does with your product. Confused? An Orange County, California patent lawyer from our firm can explain.
What is the Doctrine of Exhaustion in IP Law?
The doctrine of exhaustion, when applied to intellectual property law, affects your rights in regards to a finished, sold product. Essentially, it limits the rights of a patent, copyright, or trademark owner to control an item after it has been sold. You cannot really tell someone what to do with your product and someone using it is not infringing on any of your IP, because you have sold a product to them.
What Does the Doctrine of Exhaustion Mean For Patent Holders and Their Products?
This can sound a bit confusing, so let’s look at some examples. If you buy a laptop from a large computer manufacturer, like Dell or Apple, you own that laptop. The manufacturer has “exhausted” their exclusive rights to that product, despite the fact that they own the design, patents, or various other IP relating to the product.
This means that the owner of a laptop is not bound by any rules that Apple or Dell sets. They can use the laptop, sell it, or lend it to another person without worrying about the manufacturer stepping in. Another good example of this would involve booksellers. A book is copyrighted, but a bookstore can still sell it to make a profit.
Have the Courts Recently Weighed in on the Doctrine of Exhaustion?
If you want a real world example of this, the Supreme Court tackled a case concerning the doctrine of exhaustion back in 2017 in a case called Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc. Lenovo is a manufacturer of printers and ink cartridges used by those printers. Impression Products ran a service that would resell the cartridges instead of returning them to Lenovo, the original manufacturer.
Lenovo believed this to be a violation of its patents, but the Supreme Court disagreed. Instead, the buyers of the cartridges had permission to do what they wanted with them after purchasing them. Patent law cannot prevent someone from reusing a product or selling it to another company that would do that.
Schedule Your Meeting With Our Legal Team
If you have questions about what kinds of rights your patents or intellectual property ownership gives to you, it’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer. Contact Burns Patent Law and schedule a consultation. We can help you protect your rights and learn more about which fights are worth pursuing. Don’t let any of your IP go unprotected.
