Quanta v. LG 판결이 한국에서 가진 의미에 대한 소고(小考)

Abstract

In June 9, 2008, U.S. Supreme Court declared in Quanta v. LG decision that the

patent-exhaustion doctrine should be applied not only to the patent for apparatus

invents but also to method patents. This position is to discourage patent drafters

from disguising their patent claims as method patents even though those are

actually apparatus invents. However, U.S. Supreme Court left open the question of

whether a patentee could exclude the application of the patent-exhaustion doctrine

by inserting a clear restriction into his patent license agreement. Though there have

been relatively few studies about these issues in Korea, the above decision will be

a good guidance for our countrys forthcoming cases.

On the other hand, U.S. Supreme Court in this case once again put a brake on

CAFCs continuing attitude toward pro-patentee bias. From the Festo decision in

2002 to Quanta v. LG decision in this time through the eBay v. MercExchange

decision in 2006, the MedImmune decision in January 2007, the KSR decision &

the Microsoft Corp. v. AT&T Corp decision in April 2007, U.S. Supreme Court

had continually reversed CAFCs judgments, demanding to take a more broader

view considering not only the protection for patentees but the promotion for fair

competition in market. Because Korea has the Patent Court of Korea whose status

is similar to that of CAFC in US, it will become more and more important for the

Supreme Court of Korea to properly guide the Patent Court of Korea not to expose

the drawbacks of a specialized court.

Also, this decision in Quanta v. LG case will probably be the reading case in

US patent law area where the Korean major corporation appeared on the stage as a

party for the first time. This situation suggests that our corporations technological...