Keurig, Inc. v. Sturm Foods, Inc.

Keurig (plaintiff) held patents covering both its coffee brewers and the method by which the brewers interacted with disposable cartridges; Sturm (defendant) made and sold compatible replacement cartridges usable in Keurig's brewers, and Keurig sued for induced infringement, arguing Sturm's cartridges caused users to infringe the brewer's patented method of use. Sturm argued Keurig had already exhausted its patent rights in the brewers upon their sale to consumers, and the district court granted Sturm summary judgment.