[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously Monday in Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc. [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that Limelight cannot be held liable for inducing patent infringement. Akamai Technologies [corporate website] and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [academic website] sued Limelight Networks [corporate website] over Akamai’s patented method for redirecting requests for Internet content to ensure access during periods of high demand. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held [opinion] that Akamai could sue Limelight even though no single company performed every aspect of the patented method. In an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court reversed that decision, holding that a defendant cannot be held liable for inducing patent infringement when no one company has committed direct patent infringement.

The Suprme Court heard arguments in the case in April after granting certiorari [JURIST reports] in January. A jury had originally ruled against Limelight, awarding more than $40 million in damages.