More on Festo and the Doctrine of Equivalents

As I mentioned in my most recent blog, the CAFC in Festo radically cut back patent law’s Doctrine of Equivalents. It’s currently under appeal; we’ll see what the Supreme Court does with it. In the meantime, the CAFC continues to shrink the DOE, in Johnson & Johnston Associates Inc. v. R.E. Service Co. Inc., 99-1076. Good news for those who oppose patents and/or the DOE; not good news for those favoring broad patent rights. For more info, see this article.