Inducement and Territoriality

In BASF Agro v. Cipla Limited, the Federal Circuit concluded that extraterritorial acts could form the basis of a finding of inducement of infringing acts in the U.S.

• [Section] 271(b), which defines infringement by inducement, contains no such territorial proscription.
• Section 271(b) therefore does not, on its face, foreclose liability for extraterritorial acts that actively induce an act of direct infringement that occurs within the United States, and Appellants cite no authority to that effect.  We therefore decline to read the statute as being so limited.
• In short, where a foreign party, with the requisite knowledge and intent, employs extraterritorial means to actively induce acts of direct infringement that occur within the United States, such conduct is not categorically exempt from redress under § 271(b).