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The Doctrine Of Equivalents Into The Year 2000: The Line Is Becoming Brighter For Some But Remains Dim For Others, William T. Kryger

Marquette Intellectual Property Law Review

Under the holding of Warner-Jenkinson Co. v. Hilton-Davis Chemical Co., a court will not limit an inventor to the sole remedy of literal infringement. The inventor may also rely on the "doctrine of equivalents," which permits finding of infringement if there is equivalence between the elements of the accused product and the claimed elements of the patented invention. With this backdrop, Mr. Kryger analyzes the courts' struggle in developing a bright-line rule to protect patentees from piracy and fraud on their patents. Mr. Kryger first chronicles the evolution of the doctrine of equivalents through caselaw, particularly Graver Tank v. Linde …