Federal Circuit Strikes Down Millions in Damages Tied to Foreign Sales, with a Lesson for Future Litigants

"The Federal Circuit held that Columbia was not entitled to damages for Norton's foreign software sales because that software was not 'made in or distributed from' the U.S."

"The Supreme Court held that software in the abstract is simply a 'blueprint' or 'template,' and does not become a tangible product until it is installed on a particular computer."

"When software is transmitted from a server in the U.S. to a foreign customer, the potentially infringing copy is made abroad; it doesn't matter that the original code resided on a server in the U.S."

The Federal Circuit's ruling in the Columbia University and Gen Digital case addresses software patent eligibility and geographic limits on patent damages. The court remanded the issue of whether the software claims contain an inventive concept under Alice, step two. However, Columbia lost $94 million in royalty damages for Norton's foreign sales, as the court applied the Microsoft v. AT&T principle. The ruling states that software transmitted from the U.S. to foreign customers does not qualify for U.S. damages, as the infringing copy is made abroad.

Read at Global IP & Technology Law Blog