In the latest Supreme Court case on patent law, LG Electronics, Inc. (LGE) sued Quanta Computers, Inc. (Quanta) for patent infringement. A patent license agreement between LGE and Intel allowed Intel to use LGE's patents but required Intel to notify its customers, including Quanta, that its license did not extend to third-party purchasers' combinations of Intel and non-Intel components. LGE alleges that Quanta infringed LGE's patents by combining Intel and non-Intel component

However, the prospect of a decision for LGE causes concern among downstream users of patented products. Dell Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Company, two computer manufacturers that purchase and incorporate Intel products into their computers, filed an amicus brief with Cisco Systems and eBay in support of Quanta. These companies argue that a decision for LGE could allow many "new, and very substantial, abusive patent infringement claims" against anyone who sells or uses a patented device. Id. at 3-4. IBM, another technology company supporting Quanta, argues that upholding the Federal Circuit would ultimately result in higher costs to consumers. See Brief of Amicus Curiae International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) in Support of Petitioners at 32. IBM also notes that patent issues stemming from a unilateral notice to purchasers about one component from a complex IT product-which "regularly involves the combination of 50, 100, even 1,000 or 5,000 different patent rights"-might even prevent a product from reaching the market. Id. at 31-32. Finally, Quanta notes that a decision for LGE could allow LGE to sue not only Quanta, but even computer end consumers, for infringement. See Brief for Petitioners at 52-53.

http://topics.law.cornell.edu/supct/cert/06-937