The U.S. Supreme Court cited two sections of Restatement of the Law Second, Torts, in a May 26 opinion concerning a wireless-network manufacturer’s alleged acts of induced patent infringement.
In Commil USA, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, vacated a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and remanded for further proceedings consistent with the holding that “belief in invalidity is not a defense to a claim of induced infringement.”
In concluding that “belief in invalidity will not negate the scienter required” to make out a case for induced infringement under 35 U.S.C. § 271(b), the court pointed to other examples in which “‘I thought it was legal’ is no defense,” including in the context of tortious interference with contract, as set out in Torts 2d § 766, Comment i, and in the context of trespass, as set out in Torts 2d § 164 and Comment e to that section.