In a recent decision on patent infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed its case law that each limitation of the claim must be met in the accused device, either literally or equivalently. Specifically, the Court held that it was irrelevant whether the accused device as a whole produces an effect that is, in its totality, equivalent to an embodiment of the claim. Rather, it was decisive which effect each individual limitation of the claim contributes to the use of the invention and whether these exact effects are achieved literally or equivalently in the accused device.
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