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ARTICLE · 14 APRIL 2008

Festo Tangential Exception Focuses On Objectively Apparent Reason For Amendment

McDermott Will & Emery
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In analyzing whether the tangential relationship exception to the doctrine of equivalents estoppel applied, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part and remanded a district court’s summary judgment that the defendant did not infringe the patents directed to methods for detecting chromosomal abnormalities under the doctrine of equivalents.

United StatesIntellectual Property
David Romero, M.S.
David Romero, M.S.
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In analyzing whether the "tangential relationship" exception to the doctrine of equivalents estoppel applied, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part, reversed-in-part and remanded a district court's summary judgment that the defendant did not infringe the patents directed to methods for detecting chromosomal abnormalities under the doctrine of equivalents. Regents of Univ. of Cal. v. DakoCytomation Cal., Inc., Case No. 07-1202 (Fed. Cir., Feb. 28, 2008) (Lourie, J.; Prost, J., dissenting-in-part).

The Regents of the University of California and Abbott Molecular Inc. and Abbott Laboratories Inc., as the owner and exclusive licensees of the patents-in-suit, brought an infringement action and filed a motion for preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin the manufacture and sale of several accused products. The patents in dispute claimed methods of blocking and removing repetitive

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