doctrine of equivalents

Noun CEFR C1

Definitions

A legal rule in most patent systems that allows a court to hold a party liable for patent infringement when the infringing device or process does not fall within the literal scope of a patent claim, but nevertheless is equivalent to the claimed invention.

US, uncountable

CEFR level

C1

Advanced
This word is part of the CEFR C1 vocabulary — advanced level.

See all C1 English words →

See also

doctrine of foreign equivalents doctrine of necessity doctrine of philosophical necessity doctrine of signatures doctrinelessness Doctrines

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