Federal Circuit Takes Liberal View of Amended Patent Claims (1)

Amended patent infringement claims covering “different processes and technologies” can still relate back to the original complaint, the Federal Circuit said in taking a liberal approach to statute of limitations issues for patent claims.

The factors in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit’s test for “relating back” include whether the same parties are involved, whether the products overlap, and whether the patents use the same underlying technology.

The Aug. 16 ruling, in a dispute over patented methods for bonding semiconductor chips, could make it easier for plaintiffs to assert new patents later in the litigation process, depending ...