Limitation on Contingency Fees in Patent Assignment Does Not Undermine Assignee’s Standing

The court denied defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of standing where the patent assignment contained a limitation on attorneys' fee agreements. "[T]he [assignment from the original patent owner to plaintiff's assignor] prohibits [plaintiff's assignor] from retaining outside counsel for infringement suits where such counsel would be entitled to collect contingent fees of more than 20% of damages or other revenues. This provision simply protects [the original owner's] compensation for the assignment of the patent by ensuring that the revenue stream derived from the patent is not depleted by extravagant legal fees, which are not uncommon."

Suffolk Technologies, LLC v. AOL, Inc., et. al., 1-12-cv-00625 (VAED December 7, 2012, Order) (Ellis, J.).