Abbott Wins Ruling to Narrow Patent-Misconduct Standard

Abbott Laboratories won a U.S. appeals court ruling that will make it harder for companies to block inventors from enforcing their intellectual property rights because of potential misconduct in obtaining the patent.

The ruling tightens standards for “finding both intent and materiality” in determining inequitable conduct before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Chief Judge Randall Rader wrote in an opinion today by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington. Except in egregious cases, patents would be unenforceable only if information withheld would have affected whether the invention was approved, the court ruled.