Opinion ID: 3006759
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Dr. Shukh’s Reputation for Seeking Credit for

Text: His Inventions There is also a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Dr. Shukh’s omission from the disputed patents worsened his reputation as an employee, and whether his reputation would improve if he prevailed in this lawsuit. The record shows that Dr. Shukh had a negative reputation at Seagate, in part because he aggressively sought credit for his inventions. In his Fiscal Year 2007 Performance Evaluation, Dr. Shukh’s manager wrote: [Dr. Shukh’s] insistence on getting appropriate credit for all design ideas and implementations stifles open discussion and adoption of his ideas. Since this issue has become more important to [Dr. Shukh] as time goes on, and since he believes he has not been fairly recognized for his past con- tributions, it’s an emotional issue. Most unfortunately, it appears to others that [Dr. Shukh] is more interested in being right and in getting credit than in ensuring that Seagate wins. [Dr. Shukh] will become more effective, and his contributions will increase significantly, if he can find ways to let others see that he truly is inter- 12 SHUKH v. SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC ested primarily in Seagate’s success, rather than in his own advancement or preventing theirs. J.A. 5222. Dr. Shukh’s manager also indicated that Dr. Shukh demonstrated “unsatisfactory” teamwork skills, explaining that he “is often insistent on getting appropriate or complete credit for his work” and that he “repeatedly accused” Seagate workers of “stealing his work.” J.A. 5223; see also Summary Judgment Order at . Dr. Shukh argues that if he is named an inventor on the disputed patents, it may rehabilitate his reputation for seeking credit for his ideas. On summary judgment, the district court held that Dr. Shukh’s “reputation for being antagonistic toward his employer and coworkers regarding ownership of patents . . . is too attenuated to confer standing.” Summary Judgment Order at . It found that this harm was not traceable to Seagate’s omission of Dr. Shukh as an inventor because Dr. Shukh first developed this reputation in 2005, before he learned of his omission from the disputed patents. Id. at . Moreover, it reasoned that this harm was not redressable by a § 256 claim because adding Dr. Shukh’s name to the disputed patents would not “dispel [Dr.] Shukh’s reputation for accusing others of stealing his work in a manner that disrupts effective collaboration.” Id. at  n.13. We disagree with the district court’s conclusions. First, we find there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Dr. Shukh’s negative reputation for seeking credit for his inventions is traceable to Seagate’s omission of Dr. Shukh as an inventor from the disputed patents. In deciding that the harm was not traceable, the district court relied on the fact that “[Dr.] Shukh’s reputation for accusing others of stealing his work and insisting on credit for all of his ideas was established well before the disputed patents became an issue between [Dr.] Shukh SHUKH v. SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC 13 and Seagate.” Id. It is true that Dr. Shukh did not know of the disputed patents before his reputation for seeking credit for his inventions began to develop. However, his disputes with Seagate over his omission from the patents and this subsequent lawsuit have likely significantly worsened Dr. Shukh’s reputation on this front. Moreover, the fact that Dr. Shukh did not know of his omission did not mean he was not responding (directly or indirectly) to Seagate’s actions in not crediting him as an inventor. There is evidence that Dr. Shukh’s accusations of plagiarism and insistence on receiving credit for his ideas stemmed from his concerns about not receiving proper credit for his inventions—concerns acknowledged by Dr. Shukh’s manager as valid. See J.A. 5223 (“I have come to see over the past 6 months that [Dr. Shukh] sometimes doesn’t receive proper credit for work he has done in the past.”). And Dr. Shukh’s omission from the disputed patents occurred before he developed this reputation—five of them were filed before 2005. Certainly, the record suggests that an element of Dr. Shukh’s reputation arises from his own combative personality. But there is a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Dr. Shukh’s negative reputation is traceable to Seagate’s actions. In deciding to the contrary, the district court improperly made factual inferences in Seagate’s favor. There is also a genuine dispute of material fact as to whether finding for Dr. Shukh on his § 256 claim would rehabilitate his reputation for accusing others of stealing his work. If Dr. Shukh prevails in this lawsuit, outsiders may conclude that Dr. Shukh’s reputation on this point stemmed from Seagate’s failure to properly credit him. His reputation could change from an inventor with a “reputation for accusing others of stealing his work in a manner that disrupts effective collaboration,” Summary Judgment Order at  n.13, to that of an inventor wronged by his employer, properly seeking credit for his 14 SHUKH v. SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY, LLC own work. Here, the district court improperly made factual findings on summary judgment and made factual inferences in Seagate’s favor when it found this harm was not redressable.