Implicit Overruling And Foreign Lost Profits

Abstract

How does one know when the Supreme Court has implicitly overruled a circuit panel precedent? Despite the fact that circuit courts are faced with this question on a regular basis, the answer is not clear. The Power Integrations case currently pending before the Federal Circuit provides an interesting case study in implicit overruling, as well as an opportunity for the court to clarify how extraterritoriality relates to proximate causation in the law of patent damages, in light of the Supreme Court's recent opinion in WesternGeco.