Court Opinion

ID: 9447908
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 22:47:22.212427+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:31:13.961023
License: Public Domain

JOHN R. BROWN, Circuit Judge
(concurring specially).
I concur. As Moore sets forth in great detail (§ 17.11 [1] pp. 1354-63) a person having, as does this plaintiff, substantial exclusive proprietary rights which transcend a mere license is not at the mercy of the holder of the legal title to the patent. The procedure is still flexible to assure protection against a recalcitrant, infringing, hostile or unavailable patent holder. The plaintiff did not undertake to bring himself within these principles.
In view of this and our unanimous agreement that the plaintiff did not attempt to satisfy conditions which would have permitted non-joinder, I do not think we reach the question of the validity of an irrevocable exclusive agreement of an identifiable industry application of a patent which does not come within either an assignment of an undivided interest, or a geographical limitation covered by the statute. I agree that the tax cases are not controlling here. But they may well point the way as to so-called industry assignments. It is again the marvelous adaptability of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure which overcomes apprehension that any such assignments would result in unpreventable hardship, injustice, maladministration or abuse.