Law of Patents Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law of Patents - Case Study Example Purchasing Associates, Inc. v Weitz, 13 NY2d 267, 269 (1963). It should be noted that federal courts will look to the state laws when interpreting the reasonableness of a covenant not to compete or a non competition clause. Thus the first question is where is Frothy Beer located The reason why the situs of Frothy Beer is important is because a reasonable inference of the facts indicates that part of the non-competition agreement states that jurisdiction of any dispute pursuant ot the agreement is within the United States. Judging by the information supplied, Frothy Beer is located in the United States. Because the headquarters of Awessa is located in Australia, Federal Court is the court of jurisdiction because of diversity of citizenship. Vaden v. Discover Bank --- S.Ct. ----, 2009 WL 578636 U.S. (2009). By way of example, if Frothy Beer was located in Virginia, then the federal courts would look to the state of Virginia codes in evaluating the non competition clause between Frothy and Eyus. ... Meissel v. Finley, 198 Va. 577, 579 (Va.Ct.App.1956) ("The possession of trade secrets and confidential information is an important consideration in testing the reasonableness of a restriction on competition.") (citing Stoneman v. Wilson, 169 Va. 239, 240 (Va.1937)). However, Paramount Termite Control Co., Inc. v. Rector, 238 Va. 171, 172 (Va.1989) notes that "Although often used as a justification for non-competition agreements, it is not necessary that the employees actually had acquired or possessed specific information that could be legally defined as confidential or a trade secret, ....")(internal quotations omitted). Here, the federal court would determine, in effect, whether Frothy Beer did or did not have any legitimate business interests worthy of protection. As a result, the district court's analysis of the restrictive covenant (here the non competition agreement) will likely be skewed by the fact that Eyus developed and applied for patents directly related to research and development of beer product within his first two years of employment at Awessa. II. While It Appears at First Blush That Awessa Can Enter into an agreement with U.S.B. Beer, all Environmental Issues in regards to the low carb beer production should first be resolved by Awessa before U.S.B. Beer enters into any transaction or memorandum of understanding. A patent may be awarded for either a product or a process: a product patent creates a monopoly over the manufacture, use and sale of product while a process patent creates a monopoly over the manufacture, use, and sale of a process. U.S. v. Studiengesellschaft Kohle, m.b.H. 670 F.2d