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Simple English definitions for legal terms
prosecution-history estoppel
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A quick definition of prosecution-history estoppel:
Prosecution-history estoppel is a legal term that means a person cannot argue something in court that contradicts what they have said or done before or what has been legally established as true. This is also known as estoppel. It can prevent someone from relitigating issues or making unfair claims. In the context of patents, it limits a patent holder's ability to use the doctrine of equivalents by eliminating elements that were surrendered or abandoned during the patent prosecution process.A more thorough explanation:
Definition: Prosecution-history estoppel is a legal doctrine that limits a patent holder's ability to claim infringement by eliminating from the patent claims any elements that the holder surrendered or abandoned during the patent application process.
Example: Let's say a company applies for a patent on a new type of widget. During the application process, the company argues that their widget is different from existing widgets because it has a specific feature. The patent is granted, but later another company creates a widget with a similar feature. The first company cannot claim infringement based on that feature because they surrendered it during the patent application process.
This example illustrates how prosecution-history estoppel limits a patent holder's ability to claim infringement based on elements they surrendered or abandoned during the patent application process.