Limelight Networks, Inc. v. Akamai Technologies, Inc.

Decided June 2, 2014. Samuel A. Alito Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 12-786 · 572 U.S. 915 (2014) · Cited 159 times

Holding

A defendant is not liable for inducing infringement under § 271(b) when no one has directly infringed under § 271(a) or any other statutory provision.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Deepsouth Packing Co. v. Laitram Corp. · 406 U.S. 518 (1972)
• Aro Manufacturing Co. v. Convertible Top Replacement Co. · 365 U.S. 336 (1961)
• Global-Tech Appliances, Inc. v. SEB S. A. · 563 U.S. 754 (2011)
• Warner-Jenkinson Co. v. Hilton Davis Chemical Co. · 520 U.S. 17 (1997)
• Standefer v. United States · 447 U.S. 10 (1980)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Department of Commerce v. New York · 588 U.S. 752 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2014). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).