The Federal Circuit reversed a narrow claim construction, holding that the claim term “reciprocating member” in an exercise equipment patent should be given its ordinary meaning encompassing multi-component and curved structures, not limited to the single straight bar depicted in the spe
In an en banc decision, the Federal Circuit held that subject matter disclosed in a patent specification but not claimed is dedicated to the public and cannot be recaptured through the doctrine of equivalents — patentees who fail to claim a disclosed alternative cannot later assert it as equivalent
The Federal Circuit held that the equitable doctrine of prosecution laches can bar enforcement of patent claims that issued after an unreasonable and unexplained multi-decade delay in patent prosecution — a landmark ruling against Jerome Lemelson’s famous ‘submarine patent’ strateg
The Federal Circuit affirmed patent infringement and damages for Bose, holding that a claim amendment made solely to satisfy a formal antecedent basis requirement — not to narrow the claim’s scope — does not trigger prosecution history estoppel and does not bar the doctrine of equivalents.
The Federal Circuit reversed a summary judgment of non-infringement in a modular conveyor belt patent case, holding that the district court improperly limited the claim term ‘portion’ to a narrow construction requiring physical separation, when the plain meaning of ‘portion’
The Federal Circuit held that the on-sale bar of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) applies when an inventor contracts with a third-party supplier to mass-produce the invention commercially, rejecting any “supplier exception” to the statutory bar.
The Federal Circuit reversed a judgment of invalidity for lack of enablement, holding that a patent on a recombinant method for producing human growth hormone (hGH) was adequately enabled even though the process predominantly produced met-hGH (containing an extra methionine residue) rather than matu
The Federal Circuit vacated summary judgment and remanded for trial, holding that splitting a claimed unitary structure into two separate components may constitute infringement under the doctrine of equivalents even when the literal claim requirement for a single integrated piece is not met.
The Federal Circuit reversed a summary judgment of invalidity for indefiniteness, reaffirming that claims are sufficiently definite under § 112 if a person skilled in the art would understand the bounds of the claim when read in light of the specification — close questions of claim construction do n
The Federal Circuit held that refurbishing single-use cameras originally sold in the United States is permissible repair, not patent infringement, because patent rights are exhausted by the first authorized U.S. sale.