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ARTICLE · 15 DECEMBER 2014

Federal Circuit Review - Issue 30

Troutman Pepper Locke LLP
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Each week, we succinctly summarize the preceding week of Federal Circuit precedential patent opinions.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Joseph Robinson
Joseph Robinson
Ryan Schneider
Ryan Schneider
Robert Schaffer
Robert Schaffer
Nicole Sullivan Ph.D.
Nicole Sullivan Ph.D.
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Disclosures that do no more than recite functions cannot meet the "means-plus-function" requirements of §112 ¶ 6.

Robert Bosch, LLC v. Snap-on, Inc. & Drew Tech., Inc., No. 2014-1040, (Fed. Cir. Oct. 14, 2014) (Prost, CJ.). Click Here for a copy of the opinion.

 

Bosch sued Snap-On and Drew Technologies for infringing US patent no. 6,782,313. The district court held that the claim language "by means of the program recognition device" (likewise "program loading device") is indefinite under 35 U.S.C. §112 ¶ 6 ("means plus function" claims), for failing to disclose corresponding structure. Bosch appealed.

 

The Federal Circuit disagreed that "by means of" automatically triggered a "means plus function" analysis. However, it concluded that the district court's error was harmless and affirmed that "program recognition device" and "program loading device" nevertheless invoked §112 ¶ 6 for other reasons.

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