CAFC Affirms Dismissal for Lack of Standing in Software Patent Dispute

"As the patents were then the property of Nelson, ASI had no patent rights to transfer to AIT in 2012. The district court concluded that, pursuant to the 2012 assignment, ASI had no rights remaining to transfer to AIT."

"The CAFC determined that the district court correctly concluded that AIT had no exclusionary patent rights at the inception of the lawsuit. It also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying equitable relief to cure the constitutional standing defect."

"The district court granted the motion, finding that the 2006 agreement unambiguously transferred all patent rights to Nelson. The district court concluded that, pursuant to the 2012 assignment, ASI had no rights remaining to transfer to AIT."

The Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's dismissal of AIT's patent infringement suit against Salesforce for lack of constitutional standing. The patents at issue were originally developed by ASI in the late 1990s. A 2006 agreement transferred all patent rights from ASI to Nelson. When ASI attempted to assign patent rights to AIT in 2012, ASI possessed no remaining rights to transfer. The court determined AIT had no exclusionary patent rights at the lawsuit's inception and denied equitable relief to cure the standing defect. This decision upheld the district court's finding that the 2006 agreement unambiguously vested all patent ownership in Nelson.

Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law