bundling of patented and unpatented products - supreme court narrows antitrust concerns
Posted by Douglas Sorocco, March 1, 2006 at 4:59 am
Just a quick post to get this news up and out – more to follow:
March 1 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court put new limits on antitrust suits against patent holders in a decision that gives companies more power to bundle products for sale to customers.
The court today ruled in favor of an Illinois Tool Works Inc. unit in a suit that seeks to bar the company from forcing purchasers of its patented industrial printheads to buy its ink as well. The justices said a lower court shouldn't have presumed that Illinois Tool Works's patents gave the company ``market power,'' which under federal antitrust law would limit its ability to bundle products.