Are mere allegations of nonequivalence sufficient to overcome a prima facie case of equivalence?

No, mere allegations of nonequivalence are not sufficient to overcome a prima facie case of equivalence in means-plus-function claims. MPEP 2184 states: “Under no circumstance should an examiner accept as persuasive a bare statement or opinion that the element shown in the prior art is not an equivalent embraced by the claim limitation.” To successfully…

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