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2293 Intervening Rights - 2200 Citation of Prior Art and Ex Parte Reexamination of Patents
2293 Intervening Rights
35 U.S.C. 307 Certificate of patentability, unpatentability, and claim cancellation.
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(b) Any proposed amended or new claim determined to be patentable and incorporated into a patent following a reexamination proceeding will have the same effect as that specified in section 252 of this title for reissued patents on the right of any person who made, purchased, or used within the United States, or imported into the United States, anything patented by such proposed amended or new claim, or who made substantial preparation for the same, prior to issuance of a certificate under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section.
The situation of intervening rights resulting from reexamination proceedings parallels the intervening rights situation resulting from reissue proceedings, and the rights detailed in 35 U.S.C. 252 apply equally in reexamination and reissue situations. See Fortel Corp. v. Phone-Mate, Inc., 825 F.2d 1577, 3 USPQ2d 1771 (Fed. Cir. 1987); Kaufman Co., Inc. v. Lantech, Inc., 807 F.2d 970, 1 USPQ2d 1202 (Fed. Cir. 1986); Tennant Co. v. Hako Minuteman, Inc., 4 USPQ2d 1167 (N.D. Ill. 1987); Key Mfg. Group, Inc. v. Microdot, Inc., 679 F. Supp. 648, 4 USPQ2d 1687 (E.D. Mich. 1987).
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