U.S. Supreme Court issues a decision in Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A

On May 31, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an 8-1 decision in Global-Tech Appliances v. SEB S.A., affirming the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. In the decision the Supreme Court held that (1) induced infringement under §271(b) requires knowledge that the induced acts constitute patent infringement, and (2) deliberate indifference to a known risk that a patent exists does not satisfy the knowledge required by §271(b).