WHAT EVERY PLASTICS PROFESSIONAL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PATENTS AND PATENTING- PART 3: LAWFUL DESIGNING AROUND VALID U.S. PATENTS

摘要

Claim elements and construction of claim terms define the intellectual property rights granted in a valid U.S. patent, Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370 (1996). As such, based on a claim element-by-element comparison, one may determine whether an accused product or process infringes (literally or under the doctrine of equivalents) a patent claim. Conversely then, carefully designing a product, a process, an apparatus or a chemical composition so that it falls outside the scope of the allowed patent claims would likely avoid potential successful infringement actions. This article provides an overview of literal infringement requirements and the test employed by the courts in determining infringement under the doctrine of equivalents.