CARBICE CORPORATION OF AMERICA v. AMERICAN PATENTS DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ET AL., 283 U.S. 27

Summary

Licensing of a patent under the condition that unpatented materials used in connection with the product must be purchased only from the licensor was a misuse of the patent, and relief was denied the patent owner. Respondent manufactured a patented container for solid carbon dioxide and required all of its customers to buy their supplies of carbon dioxide from respondent. Petitioner sold frozen carbon dioxide to customers of respondent, knowing that it would be used with respondent's patented container. The lower court found infringement. The Supreme Court reversed because respondent's patent for the container did not entitle respondent to obtain a monopoly on the sale of unpatented material to be used with the patented item. A patent owner had no right to impose limitations upon the purchase of unpatented materials and supplies.