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15 January 2018Patents

SCOTUS grants certiorari in lost profits fight

The US Supreme Court has agreed to review a patent infringement case regarding lost profits occurring outside the US.

Petition for a writ of certiorari, filed in February 2017, was granted on Friday, January 12.

Central to the case are four patents relating to technology which identifies prime oil and gas drilling locations beneath the ocean floor. They are filed under US patent numbers 6,691,038; 7,080,607; 7,162,967; and 7,293,520.

The patents are owed by WesternGeco, a subsidiary of global oilfield services company Schlumberger Limited. WesternGeco offers geophysical services, specialising in reservoir life.

Competitor Ion Geophysical Corporation offers geoscience services. Ion developed technology to rival WesternGeco’s seismic survey system and sold the system, which used elements of WesternGeco’s patented technology, to surveying companies outside of the US.

In 2009 Schlumberger filed a claim for patent infringement at the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, alleging that Ion had violated proprietary technology and caused contracts and profits to be lost.

The jury found that Ion had infringed WesternGeco’s patents, and awarded $93.4 million in lost profits and $12.5 million of royalties.

However, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that US patent law does not apply outside the country and therefore the profits could not be recouped.

In February 2017 Schlumberger filed a petition for a writ of certiorari at the US Supreme Court. The question for consideration is whether the Federal Circuit erred in the finding that lost profits arising from prohibited combinations occurring outside the US are unavailable, in cases where patent infringement is proven.

Schlumberger’s petition argues that “it is an act of patent infringement to supply ‘components of a patented invention’, ‘from the US’, knowing or intending that the components would be combined ‘outside of the US’, in a manner that ‘would infringe the patent if such a combination occurred within the US’”.

A spokesperson for Schlumberger said it is pleased with the Supreme Court’s willingness to consider "this important patent case" as it is important that WesternGeco is able to recover the full range of damages "caused by those who choose to infringe its patents".

In May 2017, the court requested the government’s view on the matter, WIPR reported.

The court is expected to decide on the case before June.

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Patents
31 May 2017   The US Supreme Court has asked the government for its views in a patent infringement dispute, WesternGeco v Ion Geophysical.