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The Latest 'Festo' Ruling
December 23, 2003 Full PDF
The December 22 issue of The National Law Journal features a column written by Lewis Clayton entitled "The Latest 'Festo' Ruling." The column discusses a trio of decisions written by the Supreme Court and the en banc U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the Festo litigation that have recast the patent law doctrine of prosecution history estoppel. Lew concludes that, "For now, it appears that a majority of the Federal Circuit will apply prosecution history estoppel vigorously to limit the doctrine of equivalents." But, "Only time will tell whether the Festo criteria will clarify the law, or just begin a new phase of its development." The editor notes that Susanna M. Buergel assisted in the preparation of the column.