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ARTICLE · 05 SEPTEMBER 2023

The Importance Of Disclosing Multiple Embodiments

Osha Bergman Watanabe & Burton LLP
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A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) illustrates the limits of what a patent owner may be able to pursue or obtain in a broadening reissue application.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Ian K. Samways
Ian K. Samways
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A recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) illustrates the limits of what a patent owner may be able to pursue or obtain in a broadening reissue application. In this context, In re Float'N'Grill LLC1 also serves as a reminder to practitioners of the importance of disclosing variants of an invention as multiple embodiments in an original patent application, and of otherwise ensuring that the application cannot be construed as disclosing or otherwise being limited to solely one embodiment.

The inventors filed a U.S. patent application for a "Floating Apparatus for Supporting a Grill." The sole independent claim focused on specific structural details of the only disclosed embodiment of the invention and included the following limitations:

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