THE SUPREME COURT SPEAKS At the end of November 2000, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit decided the now infamous Festo Case. This case stated that a narrowing amendment to any claim limitation created an absolute bar to any equivalents for that claim limitation under the doctrine of equivalents. Thus, at least in…
A DEFENDANT’S OWN PATENT MAY NOW BE USED AS EVIDENCE OF NON-INFRINGEMENT Contrary to popular belief, the fact that company Y patented its own product does not mean that the same product does not infringe the patent of company X. This is because of the nature of the patent grant itself. A patent affords the…
