Abstract
Underlying the patent system is a bargain between the general public and patent owners. In exchange for the limited-time right of the patentee to exclude others from making, using, or selling their patented invention or process, the public receives the benefit of both the disclosure of new and useful inventions and processes and the increased incentive to innovate. The Supreme Court’s eBay v. MercExchange decision, however, fundamentally changed this bargain by removing the presumption of injunctive relief for patent owners upon a finding of infringement in Article III courts. The Court replaced this presumption with a four-factor test, making it more difficult for patent owners to exclude infringers from their claimed invention or process. The eBay decision led many patent owners to the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”), where the four-factor test did not apply.
Recommended Citation
Thomas R. Langdon,
The Second Bite at the Apple Watch Through the United States Customs and Border Protection: A Further Whittling of Patent Rights Post-eBay,
90 Mo. L. Rev.
(2025)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/mlr/vol90/iss1/11