判例

08.04.2021: Higher regional court (OLG) decision on patent infringement by equivalent means

For the question of equivalent use of features of a patented object, a distinction must be made in principle between such features which, from the point of view of the person skilled in the art, are "representative" of a certain technical principle of action, and such features which can only be implemented at all in the way corresponding to the literal sense, because any deviation would be diametrically opposed to the technical teaching of the patent in suit. In the former case equivalence is possible, in the latter case it is not.

Practical tip:

Here it is further explained under which circumstances variations of a product are still to be regarded as equivalent substitutes of a patented subject matter and thus as equivalent patent infringement.

The decisive question is whether a person skilled in the art would recognize, when assessing the respective feature in the patent claim, that it is a feature that is "representative" of a certain technical principle.

This can be the case - as in this case - if the skilled person recognizes that a feature is only aimed at the use of a commercially available tool. In such a case, product deviations that only allow the use of another commercially available tool could still be covered by the scope of protection of a patent.

It therefore appears important to emphasize the significance or relevance of features of the invention in the patent application accordingly, or not to weaken or remove final aspects as particularly relevant before granting the patent.