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SCHEIBER v. DOLBY LABORATORIES, INC.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit (2002) | 293 F.3d 1014

3 min read

TL;DR: A court refused to enforce a patent license agreement requiring royalty payments after the patents expired. Bound by Supreme Court precedent, it held the provision was unlawful patent misuse, even though the licensee itself had proposed the term.

Legal Significance: This case strongly reaffirms the per se rule from *Brulotte v. Thys Co.* that collecting patent royalties after a patent's expiration constitutes unlawful patent misuse, despite compelling economic arguments against the rule and the licensee's own complicity in drafting the agreement.