Intellectual Property Law Commons^™

Judge And Jury Roles In Equivalents Analysis: Commentary On Malta V. Schulmerich Carillons, Mark D. Janis

Articles by Maurer Faculty

In Malta v. Schulmerich Carillons Inc. a divided panel of the Federal Circuit affirmed a JNOV granted on a jury verdict of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. In so doing, the panel majority confirmed the applicability of guidelines from previous cases for determining the threshold level of evidence necessary to get the equivalents issue to the jury. This paper argues that despite powerful criticism from the dissent, the common sense guidelines articulated in theMalta majority opinion are not only necessary, but are appropriate. Indeed, the paper argues that the Malta guidelines are fundamental to the equivalents analysis, and …