Go Medical Specification Didn´t Go Far Enough

Addressing the issues of whether one must satisfy the best mode requirement in the first application to enjoy the priority date of that filing and what criteria must be met by a licensee seeking to invoke the Lear doctrine, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the district court's refusal to award priority to the original foreign filing which failed to disclose the inventor's best mode but found that the court misapplied the doctrine of Lear v. Adkins in reducing the jury's award of damages based on trademark infringement and breach of contract. Go Medical Indus. Pty., Ltd. v. Inmed Corp., Case Nos. 05-1241, -1267, -1588 (Fed. Cir., Oct. 27, 2006) (Michel, J.).

The technology at issue pertained to urinary catheters that avoided the increased risk of urinary tract infections by using a sheath that did not extend beyond the first 1.5 to 2 centimeters of the urethra (where most bacteria resides). The placement of the sheath prevented the catheter from pushing