On December 6, 2016, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on the interpretation and application of 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(1) in Life Technologies Corp., et al. v. Promega Corp. At issue is whether the export from the United States of a single component of a patented multi-component invention, that is later assembled outside the United States, qualifies as an infringing act under 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(1). The parties’ dispute focuses on the interpretation of the statutory language “substantial portion of the components of a patented invention,” and specifically, whether determining if a given component constitutes a “substantial portion” requires a quantitative assessment of the number of components, an evaluation of the component’s subjective importance, or both.
