Is Festo Finally Over?
Thursday, July 5th by Robert LoblawFesto Corporation v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., Ltd., 05-1492 (Fed. Cir., July 5, 2007)
Festo. Every patent lawyer is on a first name basis with this case: it’s the Miranda of patent law. It’s been going on for twenty years. It’s been to the Supreme Court twice. It resulted in an (at the time) earth-shattering new rule about the doctrine of equivalents that changed how patents are prosecuted and how infringement cases are litigated. And now, maybe, just maybe, it is over.
Today, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit affirms the district court’s judgment that the defendant did not infringe Festo’s patent on a “magnetically coupled arrangement for a driving and driven member.” Judge Newman dissents strenuously, all but ensuring that the Federal Circuit will take this case up en banc for the third time.
Update: For those who simply can’t get enough Festo, the Filewrapper blawg has a terrific and thorough post here, reaching the same conclusion: en banc rehearing is likely.
