L&W LLP Files Opening Brief in U.S. Supreme Court Challenging Ban On Contractual Patent Royalties For Post-Expiration Use

Los Angeles, CA – February 4, 2015-

On January 28, 2015, L&W LLP filed Petitioners’ opening brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Kimble v. Marvel Enterprises, Inc., case number 13-720, as reported by Ryan Davis for Law360 in “Ban On Expired-Patent Royalties Must End, High Court Told” (Jan. 30, 2015). Petitioners argue that the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision in Brulotte v. Thys Co., which established a prohibition against patent royalty agreements that extend the collection of royalties for using the patented invention beyond the patent’s expiration, should be overruled. As Petitioners have further explained, supported by numerous friend-of-the-court briefs, the Brulotte rule harms competition and hinders innovation, and patent policy, economic considerations and antitrust policy each favor reconsidering the decision.