Foreseeable trouble: How Festo Corp. V. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co. offends fundamental policies of the U.S. patent system by making prosecution history estoppel depend upon foreseeability

From: Brigham Young University Law Review | Date: January 1, 2003| Author: | Copyright information

I. INTRODUCTION

The degree to which prosecution history estoppel limits the doctrine of equivalents has long been the subject of much debate among patent owners, competitors, and the courts. In Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co.,1 the Supreme Court attempted to provide guidance on the issue by establishing that whenever patent claims are narrowed by amendment, a rebuttable presumption arises that prosecution history estoppel bars all equivalents.2 However, the Court's decision may have done more harm than good by introducing a foreseeability element into the requirements for ...

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