Plaintiff Could Not Assert Patent Claims When It Received Only Limited Rights Under the Patent From a Bankruptcy

Case: Morrow v. Microsoft Corp., No. 2006-1512, 2006-1518, 2006-1537 (Fed. Cir. 9/19/07)

The One Sentence Summary: Plaintiff that had received the right in a bankruptcy to sue for patent infringement, but which had not received the right to license the patent, did not have constitutional standing to bring patent claim because it could not establish injury in fact.



Federal Circuit Holdings:

• Patent law rather than bankruptcy law determines whether a party can maintain a patent claim.
• The constitutional requirement of injury in fact was not met where the plaintiff had received the right in a bankruptcy to bring patent litigation but did not have the other rights under the patent including the right to license the invention.