Facts
Richard H. Sorensen, a resident of California, has invented a machine that produces and portions out French fries. On November 16, 1992, the invention was filed for a patent with the U.S. Patent Office, and on May 3, 1994, the U.S. patent was granted. On the same day, a request for international preliminary examination of the application was filed. On July 1, 1994, a patent application was then filed with the European Patent Office by an English patent law firm on behalf of TEGE SA.
On October 12, 1992, Richard H. Sorensen had made an agreement with the American company Fry Factory Corp. (since December 1993: Quix Snaxx Inc.), according to which the inventor transferred all his rights regarding the patent to the company. On February 12, 1993, a court settlement confirmed that Fry Factory Corp. was the owner of the rights to manufacture and market the French fry vending machine.
On January 28, 1994, Richard H. Sorensen undertook to transfer the rights from his American patent application to TEGE SA. By contract dated March 8, 1995, TEGE SA in turn transferred all rights it held in connection with the French fry vending machine to its subsidiary TEGE Patents AG based in Liechtenstein.
On March 15, 1999, Quix Snaxx Inc. filed a lawsuit with the Princely Liechtenstein Supreme Court against TEGE Patents AG. The plaintiff requested that the defendant be ordered to transfer the European patent application No. 94901545.7 pending at the European Patent Office, Munich, to the plaintiff.
Considerations
The Supreme Court concluded that Richard H. Sorensen had validly transferred all rights to his invention to the plaintiff under the agreement of October 12, 1992. He had undertaken to transfer rights to TEGE SA under the contract of January 28, 1994,…