Federal Circuit puts patent exhaustion doctrine on hold

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Abstract: The patent exhaustion doctrine was created to limit the exclusive rights of patentees that license, or authorize the sale of, their inventions. But, in one recent case, an appellate court put the doctrine on hold. This article explores the court’s finding that a first sale doesn’t preclude a patentee from enforcing its rights in a related but nonetheless distinct invention. Helferich Patent Licensing, LLC v. The New York Times Co., No. 2014-1196, Feb. 10, 2015 (Fed. Cir.)