Mentor Corp. v. Coloplast Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
998 F.2d 992, 27 U.S.P.Q.2d 1521 (1993)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
Mentor Corporation (plaintiff) held a patent on a condom catheter. During the initial application process, Mentor sought to include claims that did not recite the transfer of an adhesive element from the outer surface of the catheter to the inner surface. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) examiner rejected these claims, and the patent issued without them. Later, Mentor entered a reissue proceeding to correct errors in the patent. During this proceeding, Mentor added claims that did not recite the transfer of the adhesive from the outer to inner surface. These claims were included in the reissue patent. Mentor sued Coloplast Inc. (defendant) for infringement of the patent. Coloplast countered by alleging invalidity of Mentor’s added claims on the ground that the addition of the claims was not based on error correction. Coloplast moved for judgment as a matter of law, which was denied with respect to the invalidity issue. Coloplast appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Lourie, J.)
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