HW 6 Fernando Rodriguez

Sage Products, Inc. v. Devon Industries, Inc. 126 F.3d 1420 C.A.Fed. (Cal.),1997.

Te lawsuit involved a hazardous disposal container specifically made for syringes. I this case it was found that the patent was not infringed under the patent of equivalents. The judge also made some important clarifications about the use of the doctrine of equivalents. Especially important the fact that the claims should be examined individually in order to establish a equivalent claim in the infringing patent. In this case the Court found that the claim involving the placement of a slot on the container was not equivalent in both products as one was in the middle of the body and the other at the top. This case was helpful understanding the doctrine mostly due to the clarifications made by the court than the example itself.