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Inventor
Intellectual Property
Law Presentation
By Angel Lai
JD-3, CPU
Magdalena S. Villaruz
• Born on 1934, originally a rice farmer who became
an entrepreneur and inventor from Pavia, Iloilo.
Issue:
Whether the petitioner is guilty of patent
infringement and unfair competition.
Infringement and Unfair Competition
Ruling
In answering the issue, the SC established the tests
to determine infringement. These are (a) literal infri
ngement; and (b) the doctrine of equivalents.
In using the former, “…resort must be had, in the fir
st instance, to the words of the claim. If accused m
atter clearly falls within the claim, infringement is m
ade out and that is the end of it”. The patent and t
he accused product must be compared within over
all context of the claims and specifications, to deter
mine whether there is exact identity of all material
elements.
Doctrine of Equivalents
Provides that an infringement also take
s place when a device appropriates
a prior invention by incorporating its in
novative concept and, although within
some modification and change, perfor
ms substantially the same function in s
ubstantially the same way to achieve s
ubstantially the same result.
Infringement and Unfair Competition
Ruling
Samples of the defendant’s floating power till
er have been produced and inspected by the
Court and compared with that of the turtle
power tiller of the plaintiff. In appearance and
form, both the floating power tiller of the de
fendant and the turtle power tiller of the plain
tiff are virtually the same.
Among other reasons, SC are compelled to arr
ive at no other conclusion but that there was i
nfringement.