From seth.johnson@realmeasures.dyndns.org  Mon Jun 18 21:20:05 2001
From: seth.johnson@realmeasures.dyndns.org (Seth Johnson)
Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 16:20:05 -0400
Subject: [Patents] High Court to Hear "Copycat-Products" Case
Message-ID: <3B2E6275.C33CDA92@realmeasures.dyndns.org>

http://cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6310539.html?tag=mn_hd

High court to hear copycat-products case 
By Lisa M. Bowman
June 18, 2001

Excerpt:

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an important patent case that
could make it easier to develop knockoff products without running afoul
of patent laws. 

On Monday, the court said it will consider whether to overturn a lower
court ruling that limits a patent's scope. Oral arguments will take
place sometime during the next session, with a decision expected after
that. 

Many tech companies are closely watching the case, known as Festo v.
Shoketsu Kinzoku Koygo Kabushiki, because it could affect how widely
patent laws can be applied to copycat products.



