Government Liable For Foreign Sub's Patent Infringement
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 01.06.04
In Zoltek Corp. v. U.S. (Dec. 9, 2003), Zoltek sued the Government for alleged infringement of a Zoltec process patent for making carbon sheet fiber by a Japanese subcontractor to Lockheed Martin on the F-22 program. The Court of Federal Claims held that, notwithstanding the restriction in 28 U.S.C. §1498(c) precluding recovery for "any [patent] claim arising in a foreign country," Zoltek could recover because such unauthorized use constituted a taking under the fifth amendment that was actionable under the Tucker Act.
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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.26.25
From ‘Second’ to ‘First:’ Federal Circuit Tackles Obvious Claim Errors
Patent claims must be clear and definite, as they set the boundaries of the patentee’s rights. Occasionally, however, claim language contains errors, such as typographical mistakes or incorrect numbering. Courts possess very limited authority to correct such errors. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has emphasized that judicial correction is appropriate only in rare circumstances, where (1) the error is evident from the face of the patent, and (2) the proposed correction is the sole reasonable interpretation in view of the claim language, specification, and prosecution history. See Group One, Ltd. v. Hallmark Cards, Inc., 407 F.3d 1297, 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) and Novo Indus., L.P. v. Micro Molds Corp., 350 F.3d 1348, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2003).
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Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.25.25
Brussels Court Clarifies the EU’s SPC Manufacturing Waiver Regulation Rules
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.24.25
