Recording over Old Standards: TiVo’s “More Than Colorably Different” Standard for Patent Injunction Contempt Proceedings

Abstract

On April 20, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in TiVo Inc. v. EchoStar Corp. overruled KSM Fastening Systems, Inc. v. H.A. Jones Co. and outlined a new analysis for patent injunction contempt proceedings when an adjudged infringer has modified an infringing product. In doing so, the court balanced two competing policies: protecting patentee’s exclusive rights through effective, inexpensive patent injunction enforcement and encouraging adjudged infringers to attempt good-faith design-arounds. This Comment argues that by transforming the KSM “more than colorable differences” standard from a procedural hurdle to a substantive requirement, the Federal Circuit successfully weighed these policies, fulfilling fundamental goals of the U.S. patent system.