AcroMed Corp. v. Sofamor Danek Group Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
253 F.3d 1371 (2001)
Relevant factsFree
Dr. Steffee, founder of AcroMed (plaintiff), patented a surgical system. Janson, a machinist, claimed to be a co-inventor and assigned his asserted rights to Danek (defendant). Danek argued the patent was invalid for failing to name Janson as a co-inventor.
IssueFree
Whether a claim of patent co-inventorship must be corroborated by evidence that the alleged co-inventor conceived an important element of the patented invention.