RESOLVED, IPO supports the consistent application of exhaustion principles throughout patent law and across all industries. As such, exhaustion should not apply to the unauthorized sale by a third party of replacement parts or sub-parts of multi-component products.
FURTHER RESOLVED, IPO supports that the right of repair does not authorize infringement of other patent rights. A patent owner should be able to enforce a patent on a component regardless of the component’s relation to the whole item.
