Fortress Iron has petitioned the Supreme Court for review after losing two patents in a case centered on a coinventor who could not be found. The company argues that the patents should not have been invalidated simply because that inventor could not be located.
In its petition, Fortress points to an 1868 Supreme Court decision that went the other way, suggesting the older precedent supports upholding patents even when an inventor is missing. The current dispute thus presents a direct question about how much flexibility patent law allows in handling inventor identification.
A decision by the justices to take up the case could settle whether the modern strict approach conflicts with longstanding practice. Without review, the company argues, patent owners face a serious risk whenever a named inventor becomes unreachable.