Government Liable For Foreign Sub's Patent Infringement

In Zoltek Corp. v. U.S. (Dec. 9, 2003), Zoltek sued the Government for alleged infringement of a Zoltec process patent for making carbon sheet fiber by a Japanese subcontractor to Lockheed Martin on the F-22 program. The Court of Federal Claims held that, notwithstanding the restriction in 28 U.S.C. §1498(c) precluding recovery for "any [patent] claim arising in a foreign country," Zoltek could recover because such unauthorized use constituted a taking under the fifth amendment that was actionable under the Tucker Act.