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Claims Must Be Construed In View of Prosecution History

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.06.07

The Federal Circuit, in Bass Pro Trademarks, L.L.C. v. Cabela's, Inc., (No. 2006-1276, April 6, 2007), vacates a district court's contempt order that had found that the defendant's redesigned device had infringed the plaintiff's patent in violation of a settlement agreement and consent judgment that resulted from a previous patent infringement suit. The court explains that the granting of a contempt order for the violation of an injunction against infringement by a modified device, requires that the modified device infringes the patent either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. In construing the claims, the Federal Circuit determines that the term "vest," as used in the particular patent claims, is a "material element" of the claims based on statements made throughout the prosecution history - particularly arguments made in distinguishing the invention from the prior art. The Court holds that the defendant did not infringe the claims because their device does not contain a "vest."

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.25.26

Twin Executive Orders Seek to Spur Quantum Leap in Technology and Cybersecurity

On June 22, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders, “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks” (Quantum Security EO) and “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation” (Quantum Innovation EO), marking the most significant federal action on quantum technology since the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act of 2022, which directed agencies to harden their information systems against quantum-enabled hacking. The orders seek to speed the development of quantum computers, which are advanced processors that can calculate multiple possibilities simultaneously and thus solve problems exponentially faster than traditional computers. At the same time, the orders look to protect against the danger that quantum technology can “break” traditional encryption by easily decoding it. Of particular note for government contractors, the Quantum Security EO directs agencies to update federal acquisition regulations to require contractors by 2031 to adopt information processing standards that resist quantum-enabled codebreaking....

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