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[superman10]

Can abandoning an application because you run into good prior art lead to any harmful inference?

Specifically, if your client stops prosecuting an application because of a reference, and that reference is a patent by Competitor A,can Competitor A make a valid point that any product your client was trying to protect (with the application that was abandoned) infringes their patent (the reference)?

So can Competitor A use your abandonment against you?
Thanks.

[JimIvey]

can Competitor A make a valid point that any product your client was trying to protect (with the application that was abandoned) infringes their patent (the reference)?

I don't think so.  Anticipation is determined by the disclosure of the prior patent.  Whether you infringe is determined by the claims of the prior patent.  The inquiries are different.

I have heard of some using the PTO's search tool to look for patent applications in which their patents have been cited and using the results to look for potential infringement targets.  However, abandonment probably won't affect that analysis.

Regards.

[superman10]

I agree. If you abandon due to a reference's disclosure, that says nothing about what that reference claimed.

Thanks.