Dijkstra vs. Saier: File wrapper estoppel

Supreme Court of the Netherlands, 22 December 2006, No. C05/200HR. Appellant in cassation versus Saier Verpackungstechnik Gmbh & Co. Kg.

Patent law: In this case the Supreme Court has ended a difference of opinion between the court of first instance and the court of appeal.

The court of appeal held that if the meaning of the wording of the claim (with the help of description and drawings) is clear that the alleged infringer cannot refer to the file wrapper arguing that such meaning is contrary to (broader than) the meaning which the patentee forwarded during the prosecution in order to be able to secure a patent (“file wrapper estoppel”).

The Supreme Court rules that the “clarity” rule only applies if the patentee wants to invoke the prosecution history but not in a situation where the alleged infringer invokes file wrapper estoppel.

Read the entire judgment here (translation made available by Willem Hoyng, Howrey).

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