In re Youman: A Second Bite at the Apple or Permissible Recapture in a Reissue Patent

By Gerald M. Murphy, Jr. for Law360

On May 8, 2012, the Court of Appeals provided some important clarification as to what can, and cannot, be permissibly recaptured through a broadened reissue application.

The technology at issue relates to an electronic program schedule system that allows a user to access and navigate television efficiently using a remote controller.  Original claim 1 in the patent application was directed to:

An electronic television programming guide…..comprising: user control means…; data processing means…; a video display generator; and selection means for allowing said user to select a title for display on said television receiver by selecting the first n characters of said title, where n is greater than or equal to one; said data processing means being responsive…” (italics added by court)

The rest of the article can be read here.