Former Employer Who Disclaimed Interest in Former Employee's Patent Was Not a Necessary Party

Case: IpVenture, Inc. v. Prostar Computer, Inc. (Fed. Cir. No. 2006-1012, 2006-1081 9/28/07)

The Two Sentence Summary: The district court erred in dismissing a former HP employee's patent claim where HP had disclaimed all interest in the patent despite an employee agreement requiring assignment of inventions. HP's retroactive disclaimer of interest meant that HP was not a necessary party and did not have rights under the patent even though the disclaimer was executed after commencement of the lawsuit.