Fresh From the Bench: Latest Federal Circuit Court Cases

CASE OF THE WEEK

AntennaSys, Inc. v. AQYR Techs., Inc., Appeal No. 2019-2244 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 7, 2020)

In the only precedential opinion issued by the Federal Circuit this week, the Court declined to reach the merits of a judgment of noninfringement because it was unclear whether the district court had jurisdiction over the case.

The patent in suit was invented by two inventors, who assigned their rights to their two respective employers: AntennaSys and Windmill. Windmill then obtained an exclusive license to AntennaSys’s one-half interest in the patent for use in two markets. If Windmill failed to meet certain sales criteria, the license became non-exclusive, and either party would have the right to exploit the patent, just as they would in the absence of an agreement.