Inducement of infringement, the doctrine central to this case, is not unique to patent law: it is found in copyright as well. The two systems, copyright and patent, share a “historic kinship,” deriving from their shared purpose, defined by the Constitution, “to promote the Progress of Science and the useful Arts.” And their respective doctrines of inducement are intertwined as well, with inducement of copyright infringement originating from an analogy to patent law.

In view of this close relationship, it behooves this Court, as it considers the law of patent inducement, to ask how that doctrine has been applied in the copyright context. The answer is clear: copyright inducement requires a showing of culpable conduct demonstrating an intent to induce acts known to be infringing. Mere knowledge or notice of possible infringement does not suffice to prove inducement.

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