This case addresses the requirements necessary to establish a prima facie case to correct inventorship under 35 U.S.C. § 256.
Background
Standard of Review
"Inventorship is a question of law that [the Federal Circuit] review[s] without deference." The Federal Circuit "review[s] facts underlying inventorship for clear error."
Claimant's Burden of Proof and Requirements to Establish a Prima Facie Case
Under the Pannu factors, to qualify as a joint inventor, "an alleged joint inventor must prove by clear and convincing evidence" that an alleged joint inventor (i) "contributed in some significant manner to the conception of the invention[,]" (ii) "made a contribution to the claimed invention that is not insignificant in quality, when that contribution is measured against the dimension of the full invention[,]" and (iii) "did more than merely explain to the real inventors well-known concepts and/or the current state of the art."
Issue
Whether
Holding
Reasoning
Mr. Howard's contribution is "mentioned only once in the" specification of the patent-at-issue "as an alternative";
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The "[s]ummary of the invention" of the patent-at-issue does not mention
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No figure or recited example described
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