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Maintaining Claim Scope after Johnson & Johnston
The Supreme Court's decision in Festo has been hailed by many as being one of the most significant cases to impact the patent system. Festo Corp. v. Shoektsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd., 122 S.Ct. 1831 (2002). Some say that more significant than Festo is Johnson, in which the Federal Circuit held that subject matter disclosed but not claimed in a patent cannot be covered by the doctrine of equivalents. See Johnson & Johnston Associates Inc. v. R.E. Service Co., 285 F.3d 1046 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (en banc).
The claims at issue in Johnson are directed to a disposable substrate for use in manufacturing articles such as printed circuit boards. The specification says the substrate can be made of aluminum, stainless steel, nickel alloy, or polypropylene. In the claims, the substrate is made of aluminum. The alleged infringers used steel. The district court found that the defendants infringed under the doctrine of equivalents and that such infringement was willful. The Federal Circuit then reversed, holding that because the patentee disclosed but did not claim steel as a substrate, steel had been “dedicated to the public” and therefore could not be construed as an equivalent to aluminum.
Less Disclosure = More Protection?
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.