Tag Archives: patent rights

Zebra’s Stripes: Just So Stories about Patent Standing

August 11, 2024PatentArticle III Standing, Cert Petition, exclusionary rights, Federal Circuit, Intellectual Property Finance, litigation finance, paid, patent assignment, patent enforcement, patent law, patent licensing, patent litigation, Patent Ownership, patent rights, Patent Standing, standing, Supreme CourtDennis Crouch

by Dennis Crouch

The newest patent-focused petition for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court was recently filed by Zebra Technologies, challenging the Federal Circuit's determination that the a patentee had standing to sue for infringement even though a third party separately held rights to assign, license, and enforce patent rights.

The case offers an increasingly common situation in patent litigation finance where the litigation funder is seeking legal assurances and collateral rights, but where those rights potentially risk stripping the patent owner from the exclusionary rights necessary to establish standing.

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Presumption of Injunction: How the RESTORE Act Aims to Re-Empower Patent Holders

July 31, 2024PatentConstitutional Law, eBay v. MercExchange, Equity, Federal Circuit, Injunctive Relief, innovation policy, intellectual property, legislation, NPEs, obviousness, paid, patent infringement, patent law, patent litigation, Patent Remedies, patent rights, RESTORE Act, Supreme CourtDennis Crouch

by Dennis Crouch

For the vast majority of American history, a judgment of patent infringement (by a court sitting in equity) led almost directly to injunctive relief barring ongoing infringement. This construct was flipped by the Supreme Court's 2006 decision in eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., 547 U.S. 388 (2006), a case which served as the first major step of weakening patentee rights over the past two decades. Now, a new bipartisan bill aims to restore the pre-eBay status quo. The Realizing Engineering, Science, and Technology Opportunities by Restoring Exclusive (RESTORE) Patent Rights Act of 2024, introduced by Senators Coons (D-Del.) and Cotton (R-Ark.), with a House companion bill from Representatives Moran (R-Texas) and Dean (D-Pa.), seeks to reshape and repair the availability of injunctive relief for patent holders. As you'll see, one nice element of the Bill is that it simply adds 1 sentence - creating a rebuttable presumption

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Inventorship; Ownership; and NDAs

April 18, 2023Patentinventorship, non-disclosure agreements, ownership, paid, patent protection, patent rightsDennis Crouch

Take the 1-question survey on LinkedIn.

The basic underlying question has to do with whether an NDA or other agreement can effectively limit an inventor's ability to pursue patent protection -- even in circumstances where the inventor has not transferred patent rights.

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