Apple Inc. v. MPH Technologies OY
In determining obviousness, the plain and ordinary meaning of claim language found in the specification is not altered by use of passive voice and plural language in the claims.
In determining obviousness, the plain and ordinary meaning of claim language found in the specification is not altered by use of passive voice and plural language in the claims.
A court considering a co-ownership claim of a past employer on a new invention of a past employee will refer to employment agreement language as well as whether or not the past employer’s claim to contribution was publically available when an application to cover the new invention is filed.
In determining design patent and copyright infringement, the ornamental features and functionality of the claimed design must be distinct from the prior art and must be viewed independently of one another.
Although more evidence is needed than just showing a similarity between a patent and a competitor’s accused product to establish copying, all evidence of objective indicia is vital in determining the obviousness of a patented invention.
Separate patentability of allegedly infringing equivalent of an invention of a patent in suit does not require patentee to prove infringement under doctrine of equivalents by clear and convincing evidence, but rather by a preponderance of evidence.
After a finding of infringement, the district court denied the patentee’s request for an injunction, and instead granted the infringer a compulsory license to permit future infringement.
The doctrine of equivalents does not apply when an accused device contains the antithesis of the claims, and the doctrine does not apply when the subject matter was either foreseeable or deliberately excluded. No infringement was found under the doctrine of equivalents because the term “predetermined” was found to be limiting.
A plaintiff may bring a Walker Process claim against a patentee based on threatened enforcement of a fraudulently-obtained patent against the plaintiff’s customers.
To defeat a motion for a preliminary injunction on the issue of potential invalidity in an infringement action, the accused infringing party must present evidence sufficient to raise a substantial question of invalidity. Regarding a design patent, such evidence includes evidence of the overall functionality of the design.
Furthermore, in order to consider the availability of alternative designs as a factor that proves the validity of a design patent, an affirmative finding that the alternative designs will not affect the utility of the article must be explicitly made if the accused infringing party has presented evidence to the contrary.