Equivalents evidence is expanded; 'Hilton Davis' widened range of factors for finding infringement under doctrine of equivalents

Article Abstract:

The US Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Hilton Davis Chemical Co. v. Warner-Jenkinson Co., a patent infringement case involving the doctrine of equivalents. Such infringement is established when the differences between the claimed invention and the accused product are insubstantial. Before Hilton Davis, the three-part function-way-result test of the Graver Tank case established equivalents infringement. The Hilton-Davis case provided several other ways to show insubstantial differences, including whether there was a copy of the product or intentional design-around by the infringer. The Hilton Davis case should be taken into consideration by patent owners and those wanting to make sure they avoid infringement.

---

Federal Circuit revises 'equivalents' principle

Article Abstract:

The US Circuit Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's decision in Hilton Davis Chem v Warner-Jenkinson makes patent litigation more complex and brings copyright principles into patent law. The opinion lowers the status of the doctrine of equivalents' tripartite test for determining equivalence. Examination of function, way, and result are now simply one way to establish equivalence. The opinion also makes evidence of copying and of designing around more significant, in the process raising unclear distinctions.

---

Federal Circuit unsettles doctrine of equivalents; a new decision, holding that the common-law tenet is a question for the jury, reverses a trend

Article Abstract:

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's opinion in Hilton Davis Chemical v Warner-Jenkinson creates a new test and makes summary judgment and pre-trial resolution of a claim much less likely. The decision ran counter to a trend that had suggested applying the equivalents doctrine was discretionary and that juries should not make an equitable determination of infringement. Instead it strengthened the Supreme Court's evidentiary test and demanded application of the equivalents doctrine in many cases.

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Postal agents stamped by scandal; undertrained inspectors and their rogue informants help convict innocent workers
• Abstracts: The personal jurisdiction effect of notifications of infringement. Overview and statistical study of the law on patent damages
• Abstracts: Aids can convince jurors by appealing to senses; studies show that jurors retain facts longer when presented in more than one sensory modality
• Abstracts: Single-asset bankruptcy ruling issued; in a debtor-friendly decision, 7th Circuit held that real estate debtors could retain ownership under 'new value corollary.'
• Abstracts: A tangled web: IOLTA and the banks. Lessons from the savings and loan debacle: the case for further financial deregulation

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.