If a corporation in NV is revoked, will its patent rights be affected, which means if the revoked corporation is entitled to assert its rights when its patent is infrineded during the period of the revocation?
While I do not know the specific facts of your matter, I can give you some general information on the issues you have described. As an initial matter, if your charter has been revoked for failure to file reports / pay fees for 12 months, I highly recommend immediately paying the fees and making the filings to get the charter reinstated. If it has been fir a 5 year period, and the charter has been permanently revoked, consult an attorney to set up a new entity and ensure the assets of the old company are properly moved to the new entity, as it is doubtful you can reinstate the revoked charter.
In addition, there is some case law that may be on point for your issue. If your corporate charter is revoked, the charter of the company is revoked and its right to transact business is forfeited pursuant to Nev. Rev. Stat. § 86.274(2). The Nevada Supreme Court in AA Primo Builders, LLC v. Washington permitted an LLC whose charter had been revoked to pay fees to reinstate the charter of the LLC, and then proceed with their pending lawsuit, reversing the lower court who had dismissed the suit. The court generally stated that an LLC whose charter has been revoked can sue and be sued, but Nevada statutes do not clearly permit this, and as such, I would not rely upon this, particularly without more information.
If you are involved in litigation or contemplating it, I strongly recommend consulting with an attorney to ensure that your rights are adequately protected. If this is just a question in general, since your charter has been revoked, I would strongly recommend taking steps to immediately reinstate the charter, if possible, or taking actions to set up a new entity with a valid charter.
Please note that this is for general informational purposes only. I recommend consulting a local attorney licensed in Nevada to get comprehensive legal advice.
A revoked corporation ceases to bee recognized by the State as a legal Corp. The suit for infringement may have to come from the beneficial owner of the patent. It may be that the revocation is deemed a suspension rather than termination or that corrective steps can reinstate as if never revoked. See a Nevada business attorney.
Generally speaking, the assets and liabilities of a defunct corporation devolve to its owners, but this is a complex matter, even before adding patent issues to the mix. As others have stated, if it is possible to fix the corporate entity, do that before anything else.
