On May 30, 2017, the United States Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited decision of Impression Products, Inc. v. Lexmark International, Inc.,1 which carries profound implications for intellectual property (IP) owners, manufacturers, sellers, retailers, resellers, and consumers across the globe.
In keeping with its precedents supporting exhaustion of IP rights after the initial sale of products embodying the IP, the Supreme Court effectively overruled the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's patent-exhaustion jurisprudence (or what many commentators referred to as "patent non-exhaustion doctrine").