The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a pair of precedential decisions involving appeals from U.S. federal agency determinations on the patent rights of North Carolina-based energy demand response developer Causam Enterprises.
The Federal Circuit affirmed the invalidation of Causam’s patent rights and mooted further infringement proceedings after finding that inconsistent positions on patent ownership taken by respondent ecobee in alternative forums did not present a constitutional due process issue.
The Federal Circuit… ruled that such a due process violation could only be asserted by whoever claimed to be the true [patent owner].
At issue in Causam’s appeals from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is U.S. 10394268, Method and Apparatus for Actively Managing Consumption of Electric Power Over an Electric Power Grid.
Author's summary: Federal Circuit rules on patent ownership due process.