Supreme Court Determines New Limitations to Assignor Estoppel Doctrine | Snell & Wilmer

The Supreme Court upheld assignor estoppel in
Minerva Surgical, Inc. v. Hologic, Inc., et al. but held that the Federal Circuit “failed to recognize the doctrine’s proper limits.” In doing so, the Court imposed new limitations on when the equitable doctrine applies in a patent case.
The Court did away with the bright-line rule that any time an inventor assigns a patent, he or she cannot later argue that the patent is invalid. Previously, courts applied the rule without looking to the individual facts and circumstances in each case. But the Court held that a fact-specific review
is required when determining whether to apply the doctrine because it is rooted in equitable principles.

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