{"argument_date":"2011-02-23T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2011-02-23T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2010","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","paragraphs":["Global-Tech advocates for a purposeful and culpable test for inducement.","SEB advocates for a standard that includes willful blindness.","Justice Scalia questioned why a company would not disclose reverse-engineering details.","Justice Alito asked if a client refusing to know avoids liability."],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 51-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 51-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 11-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 11-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 21-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 21-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 29-39","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 29-39"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 27-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 27-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 45-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 45-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 5-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 5-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 15-29","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 15-29"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 45-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 45-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 51-27","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 51-27"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 17-27","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 17-27"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 7-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 7-13"}]}],"caption":"Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S.A.","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:25.068973Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"The dispute centers on whether a company that deliberately avoids learning about a patent infringes it.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2011-02-23T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2010","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/10-6.html","primary_docket":"10-6","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-31T20:55:22.399814Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["Global-Tech Appliances and SEB S.A. disagree on the mental state required for patent inducement. Global-Tech argues actual knowledge is necessary. SEB argues deliberate ignorance suffices."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on February 23, 2011."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["Global-Tech wants the Court to require actual knowledge of a specific patent.","SEB wants the Court to accept willful blindness as sufficient knowledge."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["Global-Tech argues that only actual knowledge of a specific patent creates liability.","SEB argues that deliberately avoiding information about a patent creates liability."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Justice Scalia asked if willful blindness would be enough for liability.","Justice Alito asked if actual knowledge is the only standard for liability."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 51-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 51-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 11-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 11-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 21-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 21-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 29-39","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 29-39"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 27-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 27-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 45-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 45-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 5-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 5-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 15-29","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 15-29"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 45-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 45-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 51-27","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 51-27"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 17-27","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 17-27"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 7-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 7-13"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case defines the mental state required for patent inducement. It determines when companies face liability for ignoring patent risks. It shapes how businesses conduct due diligence on new products."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 51-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 51-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 11-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 11-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 21-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 21-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 29-39","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 29-39"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 27-37","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 27-37"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 45-5","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 45-5"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 5-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 5-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 15-29","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 15-29"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 45-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 45-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 51-27","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 51-27"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 17-27","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 17-27"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 7-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 7-13"}]}],"slug":"2010-10-6-global-tech-appliances-inc-v-seb-s-a","term":"2010","title":"Does willful blindness satisfy the knowledge requirement for patent inducement?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 27, lines 15-31","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 27, lines 15-31"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-49","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-49"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 40, lines 33-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2010/10-6.pdf","page_label":"file page 40, lines 33-3"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}