Facts

Gabriel Technologies Corp. filed suit against Qualcomm Inc., arguing that it was the rightful inventor of patents that Qualcomm acquired from a startup called SnapTrack Inc. for $1 billion in 2000. Gabriel Technologies argued that executives at SnapTrack and Qualcomm jointly stole wireless GPS technology developed by Gabriel Technologies' predecessor, Locate Networks Inc.

In 1999, Locate and SnapTrack worked together to develop global position technology for mobile devices. One of SnapTrack's founders then began applying for GPS patents. In 2000, Qualcomm bought SnapTrack's patent portfolio. Gabriel Technologies filed suit in 2008, claiming that SnapTrack stole Locate's ideas.

In 2009, the Court ruled that Gabriel Technologies could not allege breach of the 1999 joint development agreement because that agreement was later superseded. The Court also dismissed claims for conversion, unfair competition, fraud, and fraudulent inducement. The claims were found to be either pre-empted or too flimsy to be valid. In March 2012, the Court dismissed Gabriel Technologies' trade secrets theft claim and breach of contract claim due to the statute of limitations. This left only one claim for breach of contract and two claims for patent ownership.

Result

The Court dismissed the remaining claims, finding that Gabriel Technologies had fallen far short of demonstrating clear and convincing evidence to prove inventorship.