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Schlumberger Headed to Supreme Court

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   |    Tuesday,January 16,2018

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by Schlumberger regarding a patent infringement case.

This case, originally filed in Houston in 2014, seeks to determine whether companies can recoup profits on patent infringement claims outside the United States. A federal jury in Houston awarded $12.5 million in royalties and $93.4 million in lost profits to WesternGeco, the Schlumberger subsidiary plaintiff in the case.

On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's finding by holding that Schlumberger could not recoup lost profits because U.S. Patent law does not apply outside of the country.

Schlumberger appealed the Court of Appeals findings to the Supreme Court who recently decided to hear this case. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Schlumberger, companies who previously relied on patented US technology would have to pay for the usage of the technology, which would greatly hurt production and profits for some smaller companies.  


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