Article by Daniel J. Melman and Sarah Benowich published in Law360
In a decision with significant implications for foreign patent owners and licensees, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit recently ruled that foreign patentees and licensees — otherwise not subject to personal jurisdiction in any U.S. state’s courts of general jurisdiction — may be subject to specific personal jurisdiction in the federal courts in actions regarding efforts to enforce U.S. patent rights.
In Genetic Veterinary Sciences Inc. v. Laboklin GMBH & Ko. KG,[1] the Federal Circuit held that a German lab and its Swiss university licensor were both subject to specific personal jurisdiction in the United States based on the license agreement’s language, the parties’ roles in sending a cease-and-desist letter to a U.S. entity to enforce a U.S. patent and the lab’s two sublicensing agreements in the U.S. This case has significant implications for both foreign and domestic entities engaged in patent licensing and for foreign defendants involved in claims arising under federal law more generally.
