Unova Inc. v. Acer Inc.
Settlement agreements, like other contracts, are interpreted under state law. In this case, the state law of California governed interpretation of a settlement agreement with respect to whether the benefit of a release of a claim of patent infringement was intended to apply to an after-acquiring parent company. The court held that the acquiring company could not benefit from the release because the settlement agreement did not evidence that the clear intent of the parties was for an after-acquiring company to benefit.