Texas Says It Can't Be Forced to Bring a Patent Suit
The University of Texas argued Tuesday to the Federal Circuit that it can't be dragged into court by its own licensing partner, who wants to sue Baylor for infringement.
February 10, 2020 at 05:40 AM
3 minute read
It was an all-Texas affair at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Tuesday as lawyers from Vinson & Elkins, Baker Botts and Skiermont Derby hashed out a patent dispute that poses novel issues of sovereign immunity.
Skiermont Derby's Paul Skiermont argued to the D.C.-based appellate court that the University of Texas had unfairly granted his client, Gensetix Inc., the right to license a cancer treatment developed at the university, but then refused to join in a suit against alleged infringers at the Baylor College of Medicine.
When a patent is jointly owned, both owners must participate for the lawsuit to go forward. The Supreme Court has said that a patent holder can be involuntarily joined to a lawsuit if there's no other way of securing justice for a licensee. But U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen of Houston ruled that UT's sovereign immunity trumped that principle and dismissed the case.
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