Mutli-Actor Infringement after Akamai v. Limelight

Abstract

This note discusses the problems created by the Akamai en banc and recommends a future course of action. It begins with a primer on the different ways the law recognizes patent infringement and the development of an infringement doctrine known as the “single-entity” rule. Next, the note examines the Federal Circuit’s en banc holding in Akamai v. Limelight, which dispensed with the single-entity rule in limited situations and adopted a new “inducement-only” rule. The note then applies the three disparate rules derived from the majority and dissenting opinions of the Akamai en banc, as well as two approaches proposed by scholars, to a series of infringement hypotheticals to expose the strengths and weaknesses of each approach. Lastly, the note argues that Congress should create a cause of action for conspiratorial infringement, to be used in conjunction with the Federal Circuit’s en banc holding in Akamai v. Limelight.

Keywords: Akamai v. Limelight, multi-actor infringement, Federal Circuit, inducement-only, patent law, IP, intellectual property

JEL Classification: K19, K29, K39, 034, 038