Roche Co-Owner with Stanford in HIV Test Kit Patents – Says US Supreme Court
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This is an update of our earlier post with respect to the dispute on the Stanford V. Roche case. The case related to patent ownership claims of Stanford with respect to three patents relating to a test kit for detecting levels of HIV. Stanford argued in the petition before the Supreme Court that it has complete ownership of patents under the Bayh Dole Act. On the other hand, Roche argued that it also owns the patents because the inventors from Stanford contributed to the invention while researching at, Cetus, a company it had acquired.
After hearing the parties, the US Supreme Court decided that Roche has ownership rights over the three patents and that Bay -Dole Act does not trump the company’s rights. It pointed out that the inventor of the patents signed a confidentiality and assignment agreement with Cetus, which gives ownership rights to Roche. As it is a co-owner, the Court held that Roche is not liable for infringement of the patent and need not pay any royalty to Stanford.
Image from here
Authored by Dr. Kalyan Kankanala C.
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This case underscores the vast differences between copyright and patent law; particularly considering the federal-funding angle, I somewhat expected the Court to rule in favor of the employer. Anyway, this patent litigation should serve as a lesson (especially to universities) that it’s not always enough to reduce agreements to writing; you also have to make sure that such agreements are legally airtight.
After hearing the parties, the US Unexcelled Court decided that Roche has ownership rights over the three patents and that bay dole act does not trump the business’s rights. On the other swiftly, Roche argued that it also owns the patents because the inventors from Stanford contributed to the figment while researching at, Cetus, a company it had acquired. It pointed out that the inventor of the patents signed a confidentiality and appointment agreement with Cetus, which gives ownership rights to Roche.
It pointed out that the inventor of the patents signed a confidentiality and assignment agreement with Cetus, which gives ownership rights to Roche.