Fletcher YoderA later-signed assignment stating a present assignment of rights may take precedence over an earlier assignment merely agreeing to assign rights in the future; the Bayh-Dole Act does not automatically void an otherwise valid prior contractual transfer of rights by an inventor; generally all co-owners must join as plaintiffs in an infringement suit.
The Federal Circuit holds that refurbishing single-use cameras that had been first sold in the U.S. is permissible repair under the doctrine of patent exhaustion.
Allegation of independent development is denial of “improper use” element of asserted claim for trade secret misappropriation that shifts burden of production to defendant, rather than affirmative defense that shifts burden of persuasion, since affirmative defense requires establishment of facts extrinsic to plaintiff’s complaint, whereas independent development is strongly linked to improper use element of trade secret claim.