Image Technical Services, Inc. v. Eastman Kodak Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
125 F.3d 1195 (1997)
Kodak (defendant), which sold photocopiers and also competed in the related photocopier repair market against independent service organizations (ISOs), began refusing in 1985 to sell replacement parts, some of which it held patents on, directly to ISOs and pressured its equipment manufacturers to do the same, even though a Kodak parts manager testified intellectual property was not actually a factor in that decision and evidence showed Kodak withheld both patented and unpatented parts alike. Image Technical Services and other ISOs (plaintiffs) sued for illegal monopoly leveraging under Sherman Act section 2, the district court declined to instruct the jury that IP protection could supply a legitimate business justification, and the jury found for Image; Kodak appealed.
Whether a firm with monopoly power in one market engages in unlawful monopoly leveraging under section 2 of the Sherman Act by using its intellectual property rights to exclude competition in a second, related market.