Patent Law

Priority

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

DuPont sued MacDermid Printing for infringing 6,773,859, claiming digital thermal printing. '859 was based on a provisional application. The USPTO mistakenly issued the patent without reference to the provisional. DuPont had that corrected. MacDermid brewed a tempest in a teapot over priority date, confusing the district court judge, who refused a motion to issue a preliminary injunction. On appeal, the CAFC (2007-1568) ruled that DuPont had met the requirements for 35 U.S.C. § 119, hence vacating the motion denial. Remanded.

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on May 14, 2008 (boomark / email).