You still don't get it. Let me try and explain this in a manner that might be grasped by you. Company A has developed a unique electrode material for rechargeable battery and has solid patents both on the materials and methods of making same. Their only interest is of course batteries. Company B is in the business of electrochromic systems, and find those electrodes to be indispensable in their systems and starts using them. Do they owe royalties to company A? The law is quite simple, they do, if the claims were addressed to "electrodes" rather than to "electrodes in rechargeable batteries", even if the claims were worded "electrodes in reversible cells", a much narrower definition, company B's product would be covered. Of course, at the time company A develop its technology, they could not fathom the use in electrochromic systems, and later, in the process of continuation in parts, they found these additional applications, the law still grant them monopoly. As a matter of fact, even if that new application would be "obvious to a person trained in the art", as long as the original inventors add these new (now obvious in light of their original application, and as long as one year after the original application has entered the public domain) applications in a new patent, these are granted.
Zeev |
