Fortinet v. Netskope (24-2192): Federal Circuit Appeal Voluntarily Dismissed
Fortinet brought an appeal before the Federal Circuit against Netskope, contesting patentability of US10826941B2 covering centrally managed host and network firewall services. The parties reached agreement and jointly dismissed the proceedings under Fed. R. App. P. 42(b) in just 90 days — without any merits ruling.
A swift Federal Circuit exit: Fortinet and Netskope agree to walk away
Fortinet, Inc. filed Case No. 24-2192 at the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on 9 August 2024, appealing a patentability determination concerning US10826941B2 — a patent directed at systems and methods for centrally managed host and network firewall services. The respondent, Netskope, is a cloud-native security platform operator directly competing in the network security and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) space that overlaps with the technology at issue. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan represented Fortinet; Perkins Coie LLP represented Netskope.
The proceedings closed on 7 November 2024 — just 90 days after filing — when the parties jointly agreed to dismiss the appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 42(b). The court’s order reflects a consensual exit: ‘The parties having so agreed, it is ordered that the proceedings are DISMISSED.’ Because the basis of termination is recorded as voluntary dismissal without specifying whether it was with or without prejudice, the public record is silent on that distinction, and no inference about finality should be drawn.
A 90-day lifespan at the Federal Circuit is notably brief. Full appellate briefing on a patentability appeal typically extends six to twelve months; resolution this early strongly suggests a negotiated arrangement — potentially a licensing deal, cross-licence, or litigation standstill — reached shortly after the appeal was docketed. What drove the agreement, and whether US10826941B2’s validity was formally resolved or merely set aside, remains unknown from the public record.
Filing to Voluntary dismissal in 90 days
90-day Federal Circuit appeal — resolved before full briefing typically completes
Voluntarily dismissed: what the Federal Circuit exit means for both parties
Fed. R. App. P. 42(b): dismissal by party agreement
Rule 42(b) allows parties to jointly stipulate to dismiss a Federal Circuit appeal at any time. It is a procedural exit, not a merits ruling — the appellate court makes no finding on patentability, validity, or infringement. The underlying invalidity or cancellation dispute is left formally unresolved unless the parties have separately documented a settlement. No precedent is created.
No merits rulingThe public record is silent on prejudice terms
A voluntary dismissal ‘with prejudice’ would bar Fortinet from re-filing the same patentability challenge; ‘without prejudice’ preserves that right. The court order and public docket in this case do not specify which applies. Practitioners should not assume either outcome. The practical effect — whether the patent’s validity remains open to future challenge — can only be confirmed by reviewing any private settlement agreement, which is not publicly available.
Prejudice terms: not publicPatent challenge ends — but validity remains unconfirmed
Netskope exits the Federal Circuit without an adverse patentability finding, which is a favourable procedural outcome. However, the absence of a merits ruling means US10826941B2 has not been judicially validated either. If Netskope’s products remain within the patent’s claim scope, the commercial risk from the patent persists. Future enforcement by Fortinet remains possible unless private terms preclude it.
No validity ruling for NetskopeFirewall and SASE vendors: patent risk not resolved by this exit
For the broader network security and SASE sector, the voluntary dismissal leaves US10826941B2 in force with no judicial ruling on its validity or scope. Competitors offering centralised host and network firewall management should treat the patent as an active risk requiring FTO analysis. The 90-day resolution suggests the parties found commercial alignment, but that alignment does not bind third parties or resolve the patent’s enforceability against the market.
Patent remains in forceFull party and counsel information
| Role | Name | Type | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | Fortinet, Inc. | Company | Network security technology company — holder of US10826941B2 covering centrally managed firewall servicesSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant | Netskope | Individual | Cloud-native network security and SASE platform provider competing in managed firewall and zero-trust marketsSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Andrew Holmes | Attorney | Counsel for Fortinet, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | James M. Glass | Attorney | Counsel for Fortinet, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff counsel | Ognjen Zivojnovic | Attorney | Counsel for Fortinet, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Plaintiff law firm | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP | Law Firm | Representing Fortinet, Inc.Search in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Andrew Dufresne | Attorney | Counsel for NetskopeSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Andrew Klein Counsel | Attorney | Counsel for NetskopeSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Kyle R. Canavera | Attorney | Counsel for NetskopeSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant counsel | Thomas N. Millikan | Attorney | Counsel for NetskopeSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Defendant law firm | Perkins Coie LLP | Law Firm | Representing NetskopeSearch in Eureka ↗ |
| Presiding judge | Judge N/A | Judge | Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitSearch in Eureka ↗ |
Official order — verbatim text
The court’s order — ‘The parties having so agreed, it is ordered that the proceedings are DISMISSED under Fed. R. App. P. 42(b)’ — is a purely procedural disposition. It reflects mutual consent, not any appellate determination on the merits of the patentability or invalidity questions raised. The Federal Circuit applied no standard of review, made no findings on claim construction, and issued no opinion. The order’s significance lies entirely in what it does not say: it neither validates nor invalidates US10826941B2, and it creates no precedent binding on third parties or future proceedings.
US10826941B2 — Centrally managed host and network firewall services
US10826941B2, filed under application number US16/023388, protects systems and methods for centrally managed host and network firewall services. The patent sits in the network security domain, specifically addressing the architectural challenge of providing unified, centralised management of firewall policy across both host-level and network-level enforcement points. This technology is directly relevant to enterprise security platforms, managed security service providers (MSSPs), and cloud-delivered security architectures such as SASE frameworks.
From a competitive standpoint, centrally managed firewall services represent a foundational layer in modern zero-trust and SASE architectures — markets where Fortinet and Netskope are direct rivals. A patent protecting this management layer carries significant defensive and offensive value: it potentially reads on cloud-native firewall orchestration platforms, unified policy engines, and multi-tenant security management systems deployed by a wide range of enterprise security vendors. The patent’s survival without a validity ruling means it remains a live enforcement asset for Fortinet.
Should your product team run an FTO against US10826941B2?
Any organisation developing or commercialising centralised firewall management infrastructure — whether as part of a SASE platform, cloud security service, MSSP offering, or enterprise network security product — should treat US10826941B2 as a live FTO concern. The patent has not been invalidated by any court. The Federal Circuit dismissal in this case provides no safe harbour for third parties. Product managers and R&D leads building unified host-and-network policy management capabilities should commission a formal claim mapping exercise before market entry or product launch.
PatSnap Eureka’s FTO Search Agent can rapidly map the claims of US10826941B2 against your product architecture, identify prior art that may narrow or challenge the patent’s scope, and surface related Fortinet patents in the same technical family. Eureka’s landscape analysis can also identify how similar centrally managed firewall patents have fared in IPR proceedings — giving your IP team the intelligence needed to assess challenge viability or design-around options before litigation risk materialises.
Run a freedom-to-operate analysis on US10826941B2 to assess your product’s exposure
Run FTO in Eureka →Similar Federal Circuit patentability appeals in network security
Explore related Federal Circuit appeals and patentability challenges in the network security, firewall, and SASE technology domain involving comparable invalidity and cancellation actions.
What this case signals for the network security IP landscape
A fast Federal Circuit exit in a patentability dispute rarely means the underlying technology risk has disappeared — it typically means the parties found a private resolution.
Speed of dismissal signals a negotiated resolution, not capitulation
Ninety days is far too short for standard Federal Circuit appellate briefing. Parties in network security disputes who see a competitor appeal dismissed this quickly should investigate whether a licensing arrangement or cross-licence is in play. Settlement at appellate level often reflects relative patent portfolio strength, not the weakness of either party’s legal position.
US10826941B2 remains enforceable — FTO analysis is still necessary
No court has ruled on the validity or scope of US10826941B2. Any vendor building centrally managed firewall or host security services should conduct a formal FTO review against this patent. A voluntary Federal Circuit dismissal carries no estoppel benefit for third parties — the patent can still be asserted against any party not covered by a private settlement.
Fortinet v Netskope — key questions answered
The Federal Circuit appeal was voluntarily dismissed by agreement of both parties under Fed. R. App. P. 42(b) on 7 November 2024, approximately 90 days after filing. No merits ruling was issued on the patentability of US10826941B2. The dismissal was consensual and created no judicial precedent.
The patent at issue was US10826941B2 (application number US16/023388), covering systems and methods for centrally managed host and network firewall services. The underlying dispute was categorised as an invalidity or cancellation action — a patentability challenge — before the Federal Circuit.
No. A voluntary dismissal under Fed. R. App. P. 42(b) is a procedural exit with no merits ruling. The Federal Circuit made no finding on the validity, scope, or enforceability of US10826941B2. The patent remains in force but has not been judicially validated. Third parties receive no estoppel benefit from this dismissal.
A 90-day lifespan is unusually brief for a Federal Circuit patentability appeal, where full briefing cycles typically span six to twelve months. This timeline strongly suggests the parties reached a private agreement — possibly a licence, cross-licence, or litigation standstill — shortly after the appeal was docketed. The commercial terms of any such agreement are not part of the public record.
Fortinet was represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP, with attorneys Andrew Holmes, James M. Glass, and Ognjen Zivojnovic on record. Netskope was represented by Perkins Coie LLP, with Andrew Dufresne, Andrew Klein, Kyle R. Canavera, and Thomas N. Millikan listed as counsel.
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