• The scope of prohibited acts is wider than that covered by common-law fraud, and today the defense is generally called “inequitable conduct before the PTO.” If the defense is established, the entire patent is rendered unenforceable. See defense of inequitable conduct under DEFENSE(1). [Cases: Patents 97. C.J.S. Patents §§ 135–138, 145, 178.]
fraud on the Patent Office
Patents. A defense in a patent-infringement action, attacking the validity of the patent on the grounds that the patentee gave the examiner false or misleading information or withheld relevant information that the examiner would have considered important in considering patentability.
