Mutually Assured Injunction

Pun on Mutually Assured Destruction, a doctrine of nuclear weapons strategy and deterrence which suggests that in a nuclear war or exchange between two nuclear powers, the outcome would be the destruction of both. The pun suggests that where two large technology competitors both have big patent portfolios, the most likely outcome of patent litigation between them is that both secure injunctions on the other’s activities – litigation therefore is avoided in a so called tacit license or sleeping-dog license. If litigation does arise, it will usually become a race between cases to see who can secure and enforce an injunction first.

Related Terms