In the context of

German patent law German patent law is mainly governed by the ''Patents Act'' (german: Patentgesetz) and the European Patent Convention. A patent covering Germany can be obtained through four different routes: through the direct filing of a national patent applicati ...

, the ''Formstein'' defence is a well-known defense against an alleged infringement by

equivalents ''Equivalents'' is a series of photographs of clouds taken by Alfred Stieglitz from 1925 to 1934. They are generally recognized as the first photographs intended to free the subject matter from literal interpretation, and, as such, are some of t ...

, wherein the alleged infringer claims that the embodiment alleged to be equivalent (to the subject-matter claimed in the patent) is not patentable and therefore the doctrine of equivalents does not apply. It is similar to the UK's ''Gillette'' defense and the U.S. ''Wilson'' case. The name "''Formstein''" means "molded kerbstone" and comes from a landmark decision of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (''Bundesgerichtshof'') issued in 1986.Schneidmesser II; GRUR 1986, p 803. Federal Court of Justice of Germany, April 29, 1986.

References

{{Germany-law-stub German patent law

See also

References