Eric Smith had his day in court on Tuesday — in the Supreme Court, that is. Smith's company Impression Products refills and then resells printer cartridges, and the printer manufacturer Lexmark International doesn't approve. Patent exhaustion, also known as the "first-sale doctrine," dates back centuries in English common law as a means to encourage commerce and innovation, and has been reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court several times. Lexmark appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed in December to take up the small business' case, to the delight of patent law theorists everywhere. "Clearly on the domestic issue, the court is going to overrule the federal circuit," he said.

Source: Forbes March 25, 2017 14:15 UTC