05 Jun PRIOR ART EXPERT WITNESS CONSULTANT: TRIAL TESTIMONY, TESTIFYING AND REPORTS
The best prior art expert witness consultants know that in litigation, one of the most impactful ways to potentially invalidate an issued asset is by presenting compelling historical evidence. That means looking at previous public disclosures or closely related knowledge predating the filing date that prior art expert witnesses know could render the claims obvious or lacking novelty. Given the complexity of evaluating said material, cases frequently rely on advisors’ testimony.
- Establishing Qualifications as One Skilled in the Art – To carry legal weight, analyses must be performed from the perspective of a hypothetical person having ordinary skill in the relevant field at the time of the invention. Advisors establish their qualifications and experience align with this standard.
- Identifying Relevant Material – Top prior art expert witnesses conduct exhaustive searches to uncover all pertinent references including earlier patents, publications, products, software, public uses, etc. that could challenge patentability of the invention’s claims.
- Determining Applicable Date Ranges – The specific dates when each prior art reference became publicly available are critical in assessing whether it truly pre-dates the patent’s priority and filing dates for establishing precedence.
- Interpreting Technical Disclosures – Consultants closely analyze and explain the technical descriptions, drawings, examples, and instructional teachings presented in prior art references to understand precisely what subject matter was disclosed to the public.
- Mapping to Patented Claims – Also leading prior art expert witnesses provide detailed comparisons that map prior art disclosures directly to the issued patent’s individual claim limitations, highlighting where all elements were previously shown or knowledge existed.
- Assessing Differences from the Claimed Invention – For any distinctions between the prior art and patented invention, leaders opine on whether those deltas reflected mere obvious variants or optimizations within the skills of an ordinary practitioner.
- Demonstrating Enablement and Motivations – Also third parties who’ve been assigned to be prior art expert witnesses evaluate whether references contained sufficiently enabling instructional guidance and identify what implicit or explicit motivations existed for one skilled in the art to derive the patented invention.
With their comprehensive mastery of scientific and technical domains, consultants deliver testimony that is vital for judges and juries to comprehend complex technologies and connections between prior art and patents involved in validity challenges. A prior art expert witness leader’s scrutiny directly impacts the remaining scope or enforceability of issued patent claims.
