Engine submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court this week asking the Court to reconsider the broad doctrine of “assignor estoppel,” which limits the ability of companies—especially startups—to challenge the validity of certain low-quality patents asserted against them.
In our brief, we note that assignor estoppel has “morphed into a powerful tool to preserve invalid patents from scrutiny.” This is particularly harmful to the startup community, where entrepreneurs can see the growth of their early-stage companies severely curtailed by competitors wielding low-quality patents in anti-competitive ways. Not only does the doctrine of assignor estoppel conflict with pro-innovation laws and policies, but it also restricts employee mobility and business activity in the startup ecosystem.
You can read our amicus brief here.
