Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.

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Illinois Tool Works, Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.
Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg
Argued November 29, 2005
Decided March 1, 2006
Full case nameIllinois Tool Works Incorporated, et al. v. Independent Ink, Incorporated
Docket no. 04-1329
Citations547 U.S. 28 ( more )
126 S. Ct. 1281; 164 L. Ed. 2d 26; 2006 U.S. LEXIS 2024; 74 U.S.L.W. 4154; 77 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1801
Case history
PriorSummary judgment granted to defendant, sub nom. Indep. Ink v. Trident, Inc., 210 F. Supp. 2d 1155 (C.D. Cal. 2002); affirmed in part, reversed in part, sub nom. Indep. Ink, Inc. v. Ill. Tool Works, Inc., 396 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2005); cert. granted, 545 U.S. 1127(2005).
SubsequentOn remand at Indep. Ink, Inc. v. Ill. Tool Works, Inc., 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 10770 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 13, 2006)
Holding
A product involved in a tying arrangement is not presumed to have market power for purposes of establishing an antitrust violation by the mere fact that it is patented. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals vacated and remanded.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
John P. Stevens  · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy  · David Souter
Clarence Thomas  · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer  · Samuel Alito
Case opinion
MajorityStevens, joined by Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer
Alito took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
15 U.S.C. §§ 1, 2 (§§ 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act)

Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc., 547 U.S. 28 (2006), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the application of U.S. antitrust law to "tying" arrangements of patented products. [1] The Court ruled unanimously [2] that there is not a presumption of market power under the Sherman Antitrust Act when the sale of a patented product is conditioned on the sale of a second product in a tying arrangement. A plaintiff alleging an antitrust violation must instead establish the defendant's market power in the patented product through evidence.

Contents

Background

Independent Ink was a distributor of printer ink and related products. Trident manufactured ink-related products used in printers used to print bar codes on cardboard. Trident's license, when licensing its printing apparatus to those printers' manufacturers, required them to use Trident ink. However, it did not require end users of the bar-code printers to refill the printers with Trident ink cartridges. Trident did not, though, warranty its printer for use with others' ink cartridges.

In the course of a patent-infringement suit, Independent Ink alleged that Trident's license constituted a tying arrangement in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. (Illinois Tool Works then bought Trident, so was added as a defendant.) Its lawsuit was thrown out of the United States District Court for the Central District of California on summary judgment, June 3, 2002. [3]

The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed summary judgment for the most part, [4] and the Supreme Court granted certiorari . [5]

Opinion of the Court

The Court vacated the Federal Circuit's decision.

Footnotes

  1. Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc., 547 U.S. 28 (2006).
  2. The decision was unanimous as to the eight justices participating; Justice Samuel Alito joined the Court after it heard argument in this case, and so did not participate.
  3. Indep. Ink v. Trident, Inc., 210F. Supp. 2d1155 ( C.D. Cal. 2002).
  4. Indep. Ink, Inc. v. Ill. Tool Works, Inc., 396F.3d1342 ( Fed. Cir. 2005).
  5. Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc., 545 U.S. 1127(2005).

Further reading

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That the defendants in combination controlled the market and had the ability to and did drive competitors from the business of manufacturing knitted fabric slip covers is abundantly clear from the record. That the defendants in combination fixed and maintained prices is likewise crystal clear. That the defendants in combination and cross-licensing created a situation in the industry which, particularly by agreement for joint action respecting the patents, effectively hindered newcomers in the field, is also established beyond peradventure of doubt. That the harassing suits against competitors, previously discussed in some detail, were designed as and were actually only harassing suits is clear from an examination of the correspondence between the parties and the Court feels that such conclusion in inescapable from an objective analysis of the documents. All of these actions taken in concert constitute a clear violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Government has established to the satisfaction of the Court that the combination and conspiracy above referred to represents an unreasonable restraint of trade and commerce among the several states of the United States in the manufacture and sale of ready-made furniture slip covers, is unlawful, and in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Further, the Government, in the opinion of the Court, has effectively demonstrated that the defendants combined and conspired not only to restrain trade unreasonably but also to monopolize trade and commerce among the several states of the United States in the manufacture and sale of ready-made furniture slip covers, in direct violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. The Court also feels that by documentary proof the Government has established that the defendants have used patent rights unlawfully in instituting, effectuating and maintaining the aforesaid combination and conspiracy which likewise constitutes a clear violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.

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