Importance of Patent Injunctions Depends on Industry

In discussing the U.S. Supreme Court's grant of certiorari on November 28, 2005 in eBay, Inc. v. MercExchange, LLC to consider when it is appropriate to grant an injunction against a patent infringer, Foley & Lardner's "Client Alert" for December 1, 2005 notes that

[T]he availability of injunctive relief in patent cases differentially impacts the
patent portfolio management strategies of high-technology and pharmaceutical
companies. Pharmaceutical companies tend to favor the current rule, as
injunctions provide them with a powerful form of relief for halting
infringement. High-technology companies, on the other hand, tend to disfavor the
current rule, because their individual products often incorporate many
technologies. Thus, high-technology companies tend to fear opportunistic
lawsuits by parties who use the threat of injunction as leverage in resolution
of patent disputes.

Initial briefs in this case are due January 14, 2006. Oral argument could take place in March 2006, with a ruling sometime in June.