What is prosecution history estoppel?
During the application process, a patent applicant may withdraw certain claims from the invention, essentially
surrendering them to get the patent approved. In a later dispute where the
patent owner claims that another product is infringing his patented product,
the patent owner cannot rely upon the doctrine
of equivalents if the relevant
aspect of the allegedly infringing product is actually performing what was in
the surrendered claim (in other words, he cannot argue that the allegedly
infringing product is equivalent to his patented invention because it does what
was surrendered).
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Posted in: FAQ-PATENTS
