Posts Tagged: "agreement"

Software Development Agreement Not a Clear Conveyance of Patent Rights

Where a contractual assignment of patent rights is not unequivocal the contract cannot defeat standing at the pleadings stage in a correction of inventorship action. A contract between two legal entities cannot assign the patent rights of a non-party, when the non-party signed the agreement on behalf of one of the entities and not for himself. A contract to develop and deliver software, absent express language conveying an assignment, does not imply a transfer of patent rights and does not create an implication that the developer was hired to invent.

Nokia receives favorable arbitration award on patent license with LG Electronics

According to the press release issued by Nokia, licensing revenue from the agreement with LG will be reflected in the Finnish telecom’s earnings report for the third quarter of 2017 even though the expected revenues remain confidential at this time. The press release quotes Maria Varsellona, Nokia’s chief legal officer, as saying: “The use of independent arbitration to resolve differences in patent cases is a recognized best practice. We believe that this award confirms the quality of Nokia’s patent portfolio.” Varsellona also noted that Nokia sees additional opportunities for patent licensing agreements in at least the mobile communications market.

Finjan forms new subsidiary Finjan Blue to execute web security patent acquisition agreement with IBM

East Palo Alto, CA-based web security firm Finjan Holdings recently filed a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which disclosed a patent assignment agreement made with Armonk, NY-based information technology giant IBM (NYSE:IBM). Under the terms of the agreement, Finjan Blue, a newly formed subsidiary of Finjan, will acquire a series of IBM security-related patents with potential pathways for the IBM and Finjan to work collaboratively on development of those patented technologies.

Bill Nye files suit against Disney, Buena Vista for millions in underreported licensing payments

In the suit, Nye alleges that Buena Vista Television entered into an agreement in March 1993 to promote, market and distribute the Bill Nye the Science Guy television series. That agreement entitled the owners of the show to 50 percent of the net profits divided four ways, leaving Nye entitled to 16.5 percent of the total net profits earned by the show… Nye first became suspicious as to whether Buena Vista was upholding its end of the agreement in July 2008 after Buena Vista informed Nye they had made a mistake in calculating a participation payment sent to Nye that April; instead of earning $585,000 in net profits, Nye then owed Buena Vista nearly $500,000. Since that July 2008 statement recalculation, Nye alleges that Buena Vista ceased making participation or royalty payments, claiming that Nye first had to repay the $500,000 before receiving future payments. Nye’s suit specifically notes that Disney failed to act in good faith to resolve the dispute when counsel contacted them about the issue.