By Kevin E. Noonan — The consequences of joint development agreements, particularly under circumstances where later development is pursued independently by the parties, can create, inter alia, allegations of improper ownership and infringement if the agreements do not contemplate these possibilities and account (or attempt to account) for them. Such was the case in the Federal Circuit’s recent decision in BASF Plant Science, LP v. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. The lawsuit involved a complicated set of licenses and co-development activities between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), a research branch of the Australian government, and BASF….
