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In re Spansion by US Third Circuit on 21 December 2012
- 2013-03-29: ARTICLE JUST STARTED. HELP WELCOME. COME BACK IN A DAY OR TWO IF YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THIS CASE.
In re Spansion dealt with the important issues of whether a "promise not to sue" is the same as a "licence", and if such promises continue to protect the beneficiary if the patent is transferred to another company or entity. In this particular case, the company that made the promise went bankrupt and its assets were transferred to a trust which wanted to use the company's assets to sue Apple. The court ruled that the trust could not do this because the company had previously promised not to use those patents against Apple.
The case was heard by the Third Circuit, which is a Federal appeals court and is influential on commercial matters because a lot of US organisations are registered in the state of Delaware.
Related pages on ESP Wiki
External links
- The Court's ruling of 21 December 2012
- 3rd Circuit: Covenant not to Sue is a License and therefore Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy, 18 Jan 2013, Patently-O
