This case is important to plaintiffs and defendants alike in the consumer technology space where new versions of products are constantly released, but the core functionality remains unchanged from version to version. The implication of this ruling implies that once an accused product is found to be non-infringing, subsequent versions of that product can also be protected from litigation even if they were not a part of the original lawsuit. Additionally, if there is a finding that one party does not infringe, a plaintiff can be barred from bringing a lawsuit against another unrelated party for infringement of products that are “essentially the same” as the non-infringing product.
SpeedTrack, Inc. v. Office Depot, Inc., C.A. No. 15-461 (U.S. Supreme Court, Jan. 11, 2016)