Peter Scheiber v. Dolby Laboratories, Inc., and Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corp.

**Scheiber v. Dolby Laboratories: Court Rules on Patent Royalty Payments** Peter Scheiber had an agreement with Dolby Laboratories to receive ongoing royalty payments for his patented technology that the company used in their products. The dispute arose when Scheiber's patent expired, but he expected Dolby to continue paying him royalties as specified in their contract. Dolby stopped making payments after the patent expired, leading Scheiber to sue for breach of contract. The court sided with Dolby, ruling that companies cannot be required to pay royalties on patents after those patents expire, even if a contract says otherwise. The court relied on established Supreme Court law that prevents patent holders from collecting royalties beyond their patent's expiration date, regardless of what any agreement might say. **What this means for workers:** If you're an inventor or hold patents that your employer uses, understand that royalty payments tied to those patents will end when the patents expire, even if your employment contract suggests otherwise. This ruling reinforces that patent law overrides private contract terms when it comes to post-expiration royalty obligations. Workers with valuable intellectual property should negotiate compensation structures that don't rely solely on expired patent royalties.