Supreme Court Docket Report - October Term - No. 13

Originally published June 20, 2005

Recently the Supreme Court granted certiorari in two cases of interest to the business community. Barring extensions, amicus briefs in support of the petitioners will be due on August 4, 2005, and amicus briefs in support of the respondents will be due on September 8, 2005.

1. Antitrust — Presumption of Market Power In Patent Tying Cases

. Under contemporary Supreme Court precedent, tying arrangements — situations in which the seller conditions the sale of one product (the "tying product") on the purchase of another product — are per se illegal under § 1 of the Sherman Act only if, among other things, the seller has sufficient market power over the tying product. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc., No. 04-1329, to consider whether, in cases in which the seller conditions a patent license on the licensee’s purchase of a non-patented good, market power should be presumed solely because of the