## Facts

- International Salt Co., Inc. was a major producer of salt for industrial uses and owned patents on two machines used with salt products (the “Lixator” and the “Saltomat”).
- International Salt primarily distributed these patented machines through leases rather than sales.
- Standard leases required lessees to buy from International Salt all unpatented salt and salt tablets consumed in the leased machines.
- The United States filed a civil action seeking injunctive relief, alleging the lease condition was an unlawful tying arrangement under § 1 of the Sherman Act and § 3 of the Clayton Act.
- Based on International Salt’s admissions in its pleadings, the government moved for summary judgment without affidavits.
- The district court granted summary judgment and entered an injunction barring the tying practice and requiring nondiscriminatory leasing/sale/licensing terms.
- International Salt directly appealed to the Supreme Court.

## Issues

1. Whether conditioning leases of patented machines on exclusive purchases of the lessor’s unpatented salt products is unlawful per se under Sherman Act § 1 and Clayton Act § 3.
2. Whether summary judgment was proper where the material facts were established by the defendant’s admissions and the conduct was per se unlawful.
3. Whether price-related “escape” clauses or claimed quality-control justifications prevent condemnation of the tie.
4. Whether an injunction requiring leasing, sale, or licensing of the patented machines to all applicants on nondiscriminatory terms was an appropriate remedy.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment and injunctive decree.
- The tying requirement was unlawful per se under Sherman Act § 1 and Clayton Act § 3 where the patentee used its control over patented machines to channel purchases of unpatented salt and tablets.
- International Salt’s admissions established the tying practice; no trial was required because the challenged conduct fell within a per se category.
- Price-matching provisions and general price-reduction clauses did not cure the competitive harm or the tendency toward monopoly in the tied products.
- A quality-control rationale did not justify exclusivity; reasonable standards for acceptable salt could be set without foreclosing competing suppliers.
- The nondiscrimination remedy was upheld as a proper means to prevent recurrence, with ongoing district court jurisdiction to modify the decree if necessary.

## Legal Principles

- A patent grants a limited right to exclude others from making, using, or selling the patented invention, but it does not confer authority to restrain trade in unpatented goods.
- Tying the use or lease of a patented product to mandatory purchases of an unpatented product is unlawful per se under Sherman Act § 1 and Clayton Act § 3 when the arrangement tends to foreclose competition in a substantial volume of commerce.
- The Clayton Act reaches arrangements that may substantially lessen competition; the law does not require waiting for monopoly power to fully materialize before condemning conduct that moves in that direction.
- Contractual “escape” mechanisms (including price matching) do not negate the coercive and foreclosure effects of an exclusive tie where the seller can maintain control by meeting competitors’ prices.
- Summary judgment is appropriate when admissions establish conduct that is illegal per se, leaving no genuine dispute of material fact.
- Antitrust remedies may include affirmative obligations (such as nondiscriminatory licensing or leasing) reasonably designed to prevent recurrence of the unlawful restraint.

## Conclusion

The Court held that International Salt’s lease condition tying patented machines to exclusive purchases of its unpatented salt products violated federal antitrust law as a matter of per se illegality, affirmed summary judgment on the basis of admissions, and sustained broad injunctive relief including nondiscriminatory access to the patented machines.


International Salt Co. v. United States, 332 U.S. 392 (1947)