OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Bobcar Media, LLC (“Bobcar”) initiated this action on February 4, 2016, against Defendant Aardvark Event Logistics, Inc. (“Aardvark”). (Dkt. No. 1.) In the operative Second Amended Complaint, filed April 20, 2016, Bobcar alleges patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. §271, trademark infringement and unfair competition under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1125(a), and unfair competition under New York law. (Dkt. No. 12 (“SAC”)
93-131.) Aardvark has also asserted counterclaims against Bobcar, seeking a declaratory judgment that the six patents on which Bobcar bases its suit are invalid, that Aardvark did not infringe Bobcar’s patents or trade dress, and that Aardvark did not engage in unfair competition. (Dkt. No. 22 at 22-31.)On September 7, 2018, Aardvark moved to dismiss the patent infringement claims in the Second Amended Complaint for lack of standing.1 (Dkt. No. 101.) Specifically, Aardvark argues that Bobcar did not own the patents at issue at the time it filed suit, and that Bobcar thus cannot sue for patent infringement. (Dkt. No. 102 at 1.)Based on the evidence submitted by the parties, the Court agrees that Bobcar has not sufficiently demonstrated that it possessed standing to initiate this action. Therefore, at this point in time, the Court is inclined to grant Aardvark’s motion. However, the Court will delay ruling on the motion to dismiss for ten days, to give Bobcar the opportunity to either file a sur-reply to the motion to dismiss, or move to add the original inventors, David Hazan and Benjamin Cohen, as plaintiffs pursuant to Rule 21.I. BackgroundA. Procedural HistoryBobcar filed the operative Second Amended Complaint in this action on April 20, 2016. (Dkt. No. 12.) Aardvark moved to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), and the Court denied the motion on January 4, 2017. (Dkt. Nos. 13 & 21.) Aardvark subsequently filed its Answer, which asserted counterclaims seeking a declaratory judgment in Aardvark’s favor on each of Bobcar’s claims. (Dkt. No. 22 at 22-31.)2 Fact discovery in this action closed on August 17, 2018. (Dkt. No. 99.) The instant motion to dismiss was filed on September 7, 2018. (Dkt. No. 101.) On November 14, 2018, the parties completed their claim construction briefing (Dkt. Nos. 104, 107-108, 110), and a Markman hearing before the Court is scheduled for December 19, 2018 (Dkt. No. 109).B. Factual BackgroundThe following facts are taken from the operative Complaint and the parties’ submissions regarding the motion to dismiss. (See SAC; Dkt. Nos. 101-103, 105-106.) Familiarity with the matter, as set forth in the Court’s prior opinion in this case, is presumed. See Bobcar Media, LLC v. Aardvark Event Logistics, Inc., No. 16 Civ. 885, 2017 WL 74729, at *1-3 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 4, 2017).The patent infringement claims in this case involve three utility patents and three design patents relating to Bobcar’s promotional vehicles: U.S. Patent Nos. 7,942,461 (“the ’461 patent”); 8,220,854 (“the ’854 patent”); 8,690,215 (“the ’215 patent”); D652,353 (“the ’353 patent”); D678,823 (“the ’823 patent”); D736,675 (“the ’675 patent”). (SAC
