In what in all likelihood will drastically change not only patent litigation but also patent prosecution, the Federal Circuit in Therasense, Inc. v. Becton, Dickinson and Co. restated the standard for patent inequitable conduct. This retooling of inequitable conduct will likely reign in the use of the doctrine in patent litigation as a standard trial strategy even when no actual inequitable conduct occurred. The patent in question centered on “disposable blood glucose test strips.” According to the patent, the test strips, which test whole blood, have an electrochemical sensor “without a membrane over the electrode.”
During prosecution of the application, the applicant, originally Therasense, Inc. but now Abbott Diabetes Care, Inc. (“Abbott”), in order to illuminate the state of the prior art, supplied upon request an affidavit to the U.S. Examiner stating that Read the remainder of this entry »
