Update May 2011: The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari.
In a divided opinion, the en banc Federal Circuit has overturned a panel opinion that hadpermitted Princo to assert a patent misuse defense to a patent infringement action filed by Philips. Princo alleged that Philips had agreed with Sony not to license the relevant patent for non-standardized uses, reducing competition in the market. In a controversial decision that may lead to Supreme Court review, the Federal Circuit held that any anticompetitive effect was fully within the scope of the patent and thus could not constitute misuse.