Tormasi v. NJ Dept of Corrections

Tormasi v. NJ Dept of Corrections is case denying a prisoner his right to enforce patents that he validly obtained.

Walter Tormasi, while serving a life imprisonment in connection with the killing of his mother, patented an invention while in prison and years later sought to sue against an alleged infringement of his patent. But the New Jersey Department of Corrections (DOC) blocked his lawsuit by citing the “No Business Rule” regulation, which means that a prisoner must request and obtain permission first in order to pursue a commercial interest.