Cite as: 520 U. S. 17 (1997)
Opinion of the Court
body of case law on direct infringement"). We see no reason to reach a different result here.4
Petitioner's fourth argument for an implied congressional negation of the doctrine of equivalents turns on the reference to "equivalents" in the "means" claiming provision of the 1952 Act. Section 112, ¶ 6, a provision not contained in the 1870 Act, states:
"An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof." (Emphasis added.)
Thus, under this new provision, an applicant can describe an element of his invention by the result accomplished or the function served, rather than describing the item or element to be used (e. g., "a means of connecting Part A to Part B," rather than "a two-penny nail"). Congress enacted § 112,
¶ 6, in response to Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Co. v. Walker, 329 U. S. 1 (1946), which rejected claims that "do not describe the invention but use 'conveniently functional language at the exact point of novelty.' " Id., at 8 (citation
4 Petitioner argues that the evolution in patent practice from "central" claiming (describing the core principles of the invention) to "peripheral" claiming (describing the outer boundaries of the invention) requires that we treat Graver Tank as an aberration and abandon the doctrine of equivalents. Brief for Petitioner 43-45. We disagree. The suggested change in claiming practice predates Graver Tank, is not of statutory origin, and seems merely to reflect narrower inventions in more crowded arts. Also, judicial recognition of so-called "pioneer" patents suggests that the abandonment of "central" claiming may be overstated. That a claim describing a limited improvement in a crowded field will have a limited range of permissible equivalents does not negate the availability of the doctrine vel non.
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