Law360, New York (April 30, 2009, 12:00 AM ET) -- Conventional wisdom regards a consensual, negotiated patent license agreement — or an invitation by the patent owner to enter into such an agreement — as a means to avoid or preempt litigation concerning the underlying patent.
Until recently, case law, notably including settled precedent in the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, supported that view. But a series of Supreme Court cases, extended by a chastened Federal Circuit, have changed the landscape dramatically.
No longer must a licensee breach or terminate a license agreement as a precondition...
License To Lawsuit: The Path Grows Shorter
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