Does Festo Directly Conflict with Sextant?
Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo K.K.14 *After completing this report, the Federal Circuit vacated the panel decision on Festo and granted en banc review.15 On April 19, the Federal Circuit published an opinion to affirm its infringement decision in Festo. Festo was the last of three Federal Circuit decisions16 vacated and remanded by the Supreme Court for further consideration in light of two important doctrines emphasized in Warner-Jenkinson17 limiting the application of the doctrine of equivalents. These two doctrines are the all elements rule, and the prosecution history estoppel. The Federal Circuit’s review of the remanded case focused on the application of these doctrines. Festo’s two patents-in-suit, the Carroll and Stoll patents, are directed to magnetically coupled rodless cylinders used to repeatedly move articles a short distance, as used in assembly lines. The district court granted Festo’s motion for summary judgement of infringement under the doctrine of equivalent
