The following case illustrates my propensity for limiting my use of what patent attorneys call the means plus function claim limitation.  There are particular uses for means plus function limitations but more often than not, they seem to be more trouble than they are worth.  I will go over some instances where I think that [...]

As previously discussed in “Avoiding Patent Infringement,” the claims define the metes and bounds of patent protection afforded under a patent.  The claims can be infringed either literally which means that the alleged infringer practiced the claimed invention without any deviation.  If the alleged infringer practiced a variation of the claimed invention, then liability for [...]

In Planet Bingo LLC v. GameTech International Inc., 81 USPQ2d 1145 (Fed. Cir. 2006), the Federal Circuit upheld the District Court’s decision of non-infringement under the Doctrine of Equivalents because determining a winning combination after a first ball in a bingo game is drawn is substantially different from determining a winning combination before drawing the [...]