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MEMORANDUM ORDER ERICKSON, United States Magistrate Judge. I. Introduction This matter came before the undersigned United States Magistrate Judge pursuant to the consent of the parties, made in accordance with the provisions of Title 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), upon the Plaintiffs’ Motion for partial Summary Judgment, and upon the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment. A Hearing on the Motions was conducted on April 6, 1999, at which time the Plaintiffs appeared by Alan M. Anderson and Christopher K. Larus, Esqs., and the Defendant appeared by Warren E. Olson and Karl L. Cambronne, Esqs. For reasons which follow, the Motions are granted in part, and denied in part. II. Factual and Procedural Background This case arises from commercial strife between competitors in the automotive service, equipment manufacturing business. The dispute centers on the patenting, and marketing, of their respective automatic transmission fluid changing devices. Traditionally, automatic transmission fluid could only be changed through the “gravity drain,” or “service fill” method, in which the old transmission fluid was allowed to drain out of the transmission sump, and new transmission fluid was introduced to replace it. This process could never effect a total exchange of fluids, because unaided drainage would leave a significant portion of fluid trapped in remote areas of the transmission chamber. See, e.g., Operator’s Manual for the TFX Total Fluid Exchange System at 8, Affidavit of Christopher K. Larus Supp. Pis.’ Part. Mot. Summ. J. on Infringement (“Larus Infringement Aff.”), Ex. 3. The relatively new technology, which serves as the root of this litigation, replaces the traditional fluid changing method with a machine that claims to be able to replace almost all of the vehicle’s transmission fluid, by 'equalizing the simultaneous influx of new transmission fluid with the drainage of the old. This form of flow regulation is designed to ensure that all of the transmission fluid is replaced in one smooth, fifteen-minute process, and that the greatest displacement of old fluid can be accomplished with the least amount of new fluid. This process, assertedly, conserves both time and expense. Plaintiff Transclean Corporation (“Tran-sclean”), and the Defendant Bridgewood Services, Inc. (“Bridgewood”), each have ownership rights to one of these innovative, automatic transmission fluid changing systems, and they are in direct competition in both the manufacture and sale of their products. The parties’ technological and competitive proximity having engendered this litigation, their dispute concerns their respective patent and trademark rights, as well as the legality of Bridgewood’s advertising claims. The Plaintiffs contend that their patent — U.S.Patent No. 6,318,080 (the “Viken Patent”) — which was issued to the Plaintiff James Viken (“Viken”), is being infringed by a similar device, which is manufactured by Bridgewood, and which was patented by Jerry Burman (“Bur-man”), on June 4, 1996, as U.S.Patent No. 5,522,474 (the “Burman Patent”). Bridge-wood denies that its device infringes the Viken Patent, and affirmatively maintains that the Viken Patent is invalid, or unenforceable, on several grounds. In addition, the Plaintiffs assert that Bridgewood’s advertising of its device encroaches upon Transclean’s common law right to the trademarks “TOTAL FLUID EXCHANGE,” and “TOTAL FLUID X-CHANGE,” in violation of the Lanham Act, Title 15 U.S.C. § 1125, and the Minnesota Deceptive Trade Practices Act (“MDTPA”), Minnesota Statutes Section 325D.44. Lastly, in their third cause of action, the Plaintiffs seek damages, and injunctive relief, for Bridgewood’s alleged false advertising which, purportedly, violates the Lanham Act, the MDTPA, and the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act, Minnesota Statutes Section 325F.67. A. The Viken Patent and its Prosecution. As noted, the Viken Patent was issued on June 7, 1994, and was issued from Application Serial No. 07/781,322, which was filed on October 23, 1991. Generally, the patent claims an apparatus for “[flluid changing in an automatic transmission by opening the cooler line and draining used fluid, at the flow of normal circulation, out of the cooler line from the transmission into a drain receptacle for receiving used fluid and simultaneously supplying fresh fluid, from a pressurized supply receptacle, into the cooler return line to the transmission at a similar controlled rate that is equal to or greater than the rate of flow of the used fluid into the drain receptacle.” Viken Patent, abstract. The Viken Patent contains thirteen claims for an automatic fluid changing apparatus, only the first of which is an independent claim — that is, a claim which is entirely self-contained — while the remaining twelve claims refer back to Claim 1, and incorporate its limitations. Accordingly, each of the thirteen claims embody the following provisos, as set forth in Claim 1: In a fluid replacing apparatus for an automatic transmission an improvement having fluid circulation inlet and outlet ports comprising; a fluid receiver adapted to be connected to the fluid circulation output port on an automatic transmission; a source of fresh transmission fluid adapted to be connected to the fluid circulation inlet port on said automatic transmission so that fluid circulates therethrough; and means connected to said fluid receiver and said source of fresh fluid, for equalizing the fluid flow into said fluid receiver and out of said source of fluid. Id., col. 8,10-24. The Viken Patent specification discloses three different structures that perform the function recited in Claim 1, the most pertinent of which is that described in Figure 3 of the Viken Patent. Figure 3 of the Viken Patent depicts a closed tank that has a “flexible, rubber-like diaphragm,” which divides the tank into two chambers, and separates the fresh fluid from the used fluid. Id., col. 4, 54-68, col. 5, 1-8. The depiction is shown as being operated with the upper half of the tank filled with fresh fluid, and connected to the inlet port on a vehicle’s transmission, and the lower half, which is set to collect the used fluid, being connected to the transmission’s outlet port. Id., col. 3, 19-33. When the user activates the transmission pump, and new fluid begins to displace the old within the transmission, the diaphragm maintains a state of equilibrium between both halves of the tank, such that the total volume of fluid contained in the tank is constant, the pressure in the tank is symmetrical, and the rate of flow of old and new fluid is automatically equalized by the diaphragm. See, id., col. 3, 33-40; Expert Report of Richard J. Goldstein at 1, Second Affidavit of Christopher K. Larus, Ex. 24. The other two depictions of the Viken Patent — Figures 4 and 6— incorporate manual processes for equalizing the flow of the old and new transmission fluids. Each of these depictions employs a pressure gauge, and a manually operated relief valve, to equalize the fluid replacement process. Viken applied for a patent for this device on October 23, 1991. At that time, Viken had not yet built a working prototype of the device that is depicted in Figure 3. Deposition of James P. Viken at 28-30, Bridgewood App. P 8. Under Title 35 U.S.C. 102(b) — which states that an invention which “was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States,” is not patentable — October 23, 1990, becomes a critical date in the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office’s (the “PTO’s”) consideration of Viken’s application. Indeed, two conceptions of prior art, consisting of U.S.Patent No. 3,513,941 (the “Becnel Patent”), which was issued to Neil Becnel (“Becnel”), and a Japanese patent, JP 2-72299, which both disclose an automatic transmission fluid changing device, predate Viken’s application by more than one year, and are indisputably relevant to the claims of the Viken Patent. Viken did not submit a copy of the Bec-nel Patent to the Patent Examiner in an Information Disclosure Statement, and the file history bears no suggestion that the Examiner independently obtained either reference for purposes of considering Viken’s application. In his application, Viken listed the Becnel Patent among various other patents, in the “Description of the Prior Art.” Application Señal No. 07/781,-822 at 2, PTO File for Viken Patent, Bñdgeivood App. 1. Viken related that the Becnel Patent, and U.S.Patent No. 4,745,-989, were “believed to be the most directly pertinent” to Viken’s invention. Id. at 3. Although Viken had only recently been made aware of the existence of the Becnel Patent, he represented to the Examiner that he had utilized the concepts present in the Becnel Patent “in a similar manner,” and had encountered performance problems. Id. at 5. Since it is not disputed that Viken was not aware of the Becnel Patent until July of 1991, there is some question as to the veracity of his representation, to the PTO, that he had utilized the method disclosed by the Becnel Patent in the course of designing his invention. In his Affidavit, Viken explains that he had been experimenting with a “free discharge” method for changing automatic transmission fluid which, unbeknownst to him, was the same method that was disclosed in the Becnel Patent. Affidavit of James P. Viken ¶.3-16. Viken describes the “free discharge” method, with which he was experimenting, as comprising the following: [Interrupting the return line from the cooler to the transmission to allow the used ATF to freely discharge into a receptacle, connecting the return line to a source of fresh fluid, starting the engine of the vehicle to activate the transmission’s pumping system, delivering a continuous supply of fresh fluid to the transmission, and metering the flow of fresh fluid until approximately the entire capacity of the transmission cooler had been delivered. I then stopped the vehicle’s engine, cut off the source of fresh fluid, and reconnected the return line to close the cooling circuit. Id. ¶ 3. While it was performed on a “derivative” of one of Viken’s fluid changing devices, see, Viken Depo. at 299, which did not precisely correspond with the embodiments of the Becnel device, id. at 312-15, the method that Viken describes is identical to that disclosed in the Becnel Patent. See, Becnel Patent, col. 3, 7-22, col. 4, 1-5, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 72. Viken avers that, only after he had conceived of his invention, and had consulted with a patent lawyer, did he learn that the method he had tested was, quite coincidentally, disclosed in the Becnel Patent. Viken Aff. ¶ 14. Thus, according to Viken, his statements to the Patent Examiner, concerning the difficulties in the Becnel Patent’s methodology, reflect his unwitting experience with that same methodology before he knew that it was patented. However, Viken never attempted to contact Becnel, nor did he consult the file history of the Becnel Patent application, in order to make sure that his conception of how Becnel’s device worked was an accurate one. Viken Depo. at 301. The malfunction that Viken encountered, when he experimented with the method disclosed in the Becnel Patent — at least as he understood it — was “that most, if not all, of the transmissions operated upon became excessively hot or were subject to internal damage to the fluid seals, rear bearings, or other internal components because it was impossible to maintain equality between the fluid added and the fluid drained, because it was impossible to maintain normal fluid flow rates and flow patterns external to and internal within the transmission and its component parts.” Application Serial No. 07/781,822 at 5. According to the Viken Patent specification: Becnel’s invention *** allowed no clear means of balancing and/or matching that flow rate to the rate at which fluid is normally circulated through the cooler line back to the transmission or regulating the exhausting of aged fluid into the waste receptacle to produce a balanced substitution of fresh fluid for aged fluid. Viken Patent, col. 1, 65-69, col. 2,1-7. Viken’s specification depicts a flow disruption which caused “an intermittent, recurrent starvation condition to certain internal transmission components resulting in undue stress and frequent damage to those components,” which was caused by the imbalance in input and output flows that, allegedly, plagued Becnel’s invention. Id., col. 1, 54-65. When the Viken Patent issued, the Bec-nel Patent was conspicuously absent from the references cited in the heading which listed several other “U.S.Patent Documents.” Id., references cited. As noted, Viken and his attorney failed to submit a copy of the Becnel Patent to the Examiner, even though Viken informed the Examiner that it was one of the most pertinent to his invention. It is unclear whether the Examiner, in fact, independently obtained the Becnel Patent and, thereafter, examined it. Evidently, the Examiner did search the field of art to which the Becnel Patent belonged. Viken Patent, field of search. For example, there are cryptic notations, in the margins of the application, and beside the section listing the patents that were discovered in Viken’s prior art search — the Becnel Patent among them — as well as jottings that are adjacent to the portion of the application that describes Becnel’s achievement of pri- or art as “the most directly pertinent” to Viken’s invention. Application Serial No. 07/781,822 at 2-3. These handwritten markings are not accompanied by any form of identification, making their authorship a matter of some surmise. Viken provided the Examiner with two sketches — Figures 1 and 2 — of the prior art that he discussed in the specification, and that included the Becnel Patent. In both illustrations, used fluid is allowed to flow, “unrestricted and unregulated,” into a bucket or some other outlet. Viken Patent, col. 4, 21-47. By comparison, Figure 5 of the Becnel Patent, which “shows a modified arrangement of [Becnel’s] fluid change means,” shows that a “meter,” and a “gauge,” are employed to measure input and output. Becnel Patent, col. 2, 49-73. As explained in the Becnel Patent, the operator would keep an eye on both the meter and gauge, in order to determine when “the same amount of fluid ha[d] been discharged into the receptacle, as [had been] forced out of the tank by the air line,” at which point “it is time to shut down the procedures, reconnect the line to the discharge pipe and bring the transmission to the proper level by conventional methods.” Id., col. 2, 63-73. After once rejecting Viken’s application on unrelated grounds, the Examiner allowed his invention to be patented, prior art notwithstanding. See, PTO File for Viken Patent. B. Pertinent Conceptions of Prior Art. Viken’s invention is not the first such apparatus that was developed as an improvement over the traditional method of automatic transmission fluid replacement. Among the several fluid changing designs, which comprised the state of prior art to the Viken Patent, a series of devices, that Becnel designed, as well as JP 2-72299, are relevant to this case. 1. Becnel Hydro-Pure Devices. Bec-nel is a trained mechanic, and he has owned, and operated, a transmission repair service in the New Orleans, Louisiana, area since 1956. Revised Declaration of Neil J. Becnel, Sr. ¶ 2, Supplemental Expert Report of Neil J. Becnel Sr., Bridge-ivood App. P 5. In this case, Becnel has been retained by Bridgewood as an expert on.the production and functioning of transmissions, and on automatic transmission fluid exchange devices. At the same time, Bridgewood relies upon him as a fact witness, in order to claim that he was the inventor of devices that anticipated the claims of the Viken Patent. Becnel testified that, between 1964 and 1971, he designed and built several different transmission fluid changing devices, which he “considered to perform a complete or total fluid exchange.” Revised Becnel Decl. ¶ 3. Becnel claimed that, after experimenting with several precursor models, he designed and built two prototypes in early 1967, which were based upon an air pressure design, and which “allowed the operator to adjust the pressure of the fluid being introduced into the transmission so as to balance the flow going into the transmission, through the oil outlet line, with the flow going out of the transmission, into a waste receptacle.” Id. ¶ 5. The equalization of the flow of fluids into and out of the transmission was, allegedly, accomplished by the previously referenced flow volume meters, and a throttling valve, which could be manually adjusted to manipulate the flow. See, Declaration of Eugene L. Johnson ¶ 16, Expert Report of Eugene L. Johnson. This mechanism, which Becnel named the “Hydro-Pure,” was the subject of the Becnel Patent that was issued on May 26,1970. Becnel testified that, in 1968, while his patent application was pending, he “conceived of and started to develop still another total fluid exchange device, that was based upon a known brake bleeder device.” Revised Becnel Decl. ¶ 9. He claims to have modified an EIS model 3400 “brake bleeder,” in order to create a new Hydro-Pure transmission fluid changing device, which closely resembled the device depicted in Figure 3 of the Viken Patent. According to Becnel, this second generation Hydro-Pure automatically balanced the ingress and egress of transmission fluid by using a closed tank, which was separated by a flexible, rubber diaphragm. Id. Bec-nel related that he manufactured three modified EIS devices between 1969 and 1976, and publicly used, advertised, and sold them in those, and in ensuing years. Revised Becnel Decl. ¶ 9-16. 2. JP 2-72299. Japanese inventors Sa-toshi Shiroyama and Kazuo Maruyama devised their own automatic transmission fluid replacement apparatus in 1988, which was published as a laid-open Japanese patent on March 12, 1990. JP 2-72299 (Bertrand Languages, Inc. translation), Bridge- wood App. PS. The specifications of that patent consist of the following elements: [1] a means which connects to the oil cooler of an automobile or to the automatic transmission fluid line which is connected to the oil cooler; [2] a fluid drainage tube in via said connection means as the engine of the automobile runs; [3] a means which controls the outflow of the used automatic transmission fluid by opening and closing the aforementioned drainage tube or by adjusting the flow rate; [4] a means which detects the amount of used automatic transmission fluid which is removed by the fluid transmission tube; a fluid supply tube which is provided with a pump or other means of pressurization from the aforementioned supply tube; and a means which controls the aforementioned control means, so that the aforementioned pressurization means based on the amount of fluid drained and the amount of fluid supplied by both of the aforementioned control devices automatically balances the amount of fluid drained and the amount of fluid supplied within an indicated range to resolve [the problems associated with manual balancing of the flow rate of used and new automatic transmission fluids]. Id. at 14-15 [emphasis added]. Stated otherwise, the device performs its “automatic” balancing process through a computerized system that measures the weights of the used and fresh fluid receptacles and stores the data in its “memory.” Then, during the fluid changing operation, “the amount of fluid drained and the amount of fluid supplied are constantly monitored” and, if “the difference between these deviates from the indicated range, compensating operations are carried out by adjusting the electromagnetic valve or the pump so that neither of these is advanced to an extreme.” Id. at 20. C. Bndgewood’s Fluid Exchanging Device. Since March of 1995, Bridgewood has manufactured, sold, and offered for sale in the United States, its own automatic transmission fluid exchanging system. Deposition of Jerry Burman at 52, Affidavit of Christopher K. Lams Supp. Mot. P. Summ. J. on Defs. ’ Patent Invalidity and Unenforceability Claims (“Lams Invalidity Aff.”), Ex. 5; Deposition of James R. Fitzsimons at 61, Lams Infringement Aff., Ex. 62. Bridgewood’s fluid changing device is covered by the Burman Patent. Like the Viken Patent, the Burman Patent discloses a transmission fluid exchanging machine that uses a bicameral fluid reservoir, which is divided between repositories for fresh and used fluid, and which purports to permit “essentially one hundred percent of the used fluid to be removed and concurrently replaced with fresh fluid ***.” Burman Patent, col. 4, 36-38. Unlike the Viken Patent, which disclosed a flexible, rubber-like diaphragm as the means for automatic flow equalization, the Burman Patent describes a “free-floating piston” that separates the two chambers which contain the fresh and used transmission fluids. Id., col. 5, 35-37, col. 6, 15-21, 47-49. Burman applied for his patent on October 7, 1994. On June 12, 1995, the Patent Examiner rejected Burman’s application because, among other reasons, Burman’s invention was unpatentable under Title 35 U.S.C. § 103, over the Viken Patent, among others. Action of Patent Office on Application Serial No. 08/319,593 at 4-15, PTO File for Burman Patent, Bridgewood App. PL In a response, dated June 26, 1995, Burman offered certain amendments, which are not here pertinent, and he argued, as follows, that his device was sufficiently distinct from the Viken Patent so as to overcome the Examiner’s objection: Viken is cited for a fluid changer that utilizes a diaphragm. *** It is not clear that the rubber-type diaphragm permits complete evacuation of either chamber. By contrast, the present invention utilizes a free floating piston that permits complete evacuation of used fluid so that no buildup of used fluid can occur. The flexible, rubber-type diaphragm of Viken utilizes elasticity as the motive force, and it appears unlikely that either chamber could be completely evacuated. Application Amendment and Remarks at 5, PTO File for Burman Patent [emphasis in original]. On September 20, 1995, the Examiner informed Burman that his arguments did not overcome the initial objections. “Concerning [Burman’s] argument that the rubber diaphragm of Viken will not permit a complete evacuation of used fluid,” the Examiner noted that “there is no recitation of this feature in the claims.” Examiner’s Response to Communication Filed on July 3, 1995 at 4, PTO File for Burman Patent. Further, in the course of rejecting Burman’s argument that his design was not obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, the Examiner observed that “a diaphragm and a free floating piston are functional equivalents as is known in the art.” Id. Burman again amended his application, in order to insert a claim that the system would “extract[ ] all used transmission fluid from an automatic transmission system ***.” Application Amendment After Final and Remarks at 1, PTO File for Burman Patent. In addition, Burman breathed new life into his argument, that the flexible, rubber-like diaphragm, that was disclosed in the Viken Patent, and his free-floating piston, were functionally distinct, in the following words: A key element in the present invention is the use of a floating piston. Although the diaphragm of Viken will produce the desired result, it performs by deformation under pressure. The floating piston provides a positive displacement of fluid, and therefore performs the function in a different manner than a flexible diaphragm. Id. at 4 [emphasis in original]. Thereafter, the Examiner dropped his rejection of Burman’s application without further comment, and the patent issued on June 4,1996. D. Marketing of the Competing Fluid Changing Devices. 1. Trademarks. Since January of 1994, Transclean has marketed an automatic transmission fluid exchanging device called the TFX 5000, using the marks “TOTAL FLUID EXCHANGE,” and “TOTAL FLUID X-CHANGE.” Viken Aff. ¶ 27. The Record discloses that Transclean placed the marks on various advertising materials, on invoices, and in the TFX 5000 owners manual. See, Tran-sclean Ads, Larus Second Aff., Exs. 55, 62, 68; Transclean Operator’s Manuals, La-rus Second Aff., Exs. 63, 67, 69. Transcle-an has not, however, federally registered either trademark. The Record reflects that Transclean has used the phrase “total fluid exchange” both emblematically, and as a description of the claimed performance of the TFX 5000. There are several examples of Transclean’s employment of the phrase as the name of its product, or its company slogan but, in total, those uses do not completely reflect the descriptiveness of that terminology. For example, in a brochure, that was distributed, in 1994, by Minnetonka Transmission, Transclean’s product is heralded as the “-TFXTOTAL FLUID EXCHANGE SYSTEM.” Tran-sclean Advertisement, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 62. An undated advertisement bears the title: “Total Fluid Exchange System® for Automatic Transmissions.” Transcle-an Advertisement, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 68. Likewise, the 1994 operator’s manual for the TFX bears the title: OPERATOR’S MANUAL FOR THE TFX TOTAL FLUID EXCHANGE SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS Transclean Operator’s Manual, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 63. The inclusion of the word “system,” after “total fluid exchange,” preserves some of the descriptive qualities of the phrase. As of April of 1997, the cover page of the manual had changed the spelling of the word “Exchange.” — shortening the term to “Xehange.” Transclean Operator’s Manual, Larus Second Aff., Exs. 67, 69. There are other examples where Tran-sclean employed “total fluid exchange” as an entirely descriptive phrase. In the previously referenced 1994 brochure, Tran-sclean includes the following claim: Before the -TFXTOTAL FLUID EXCHANGE SYSTEM by TRANSCLE-AN was developed and made available to the Public, TOTAL FLUID EXCHANGE WAS NOT POSSIBLE. Transclean Brochure at 1. Similarly, the undated advertisement, which was captioned “Total Fluid Exchange System® for Automatic Transmissions,” represents that the product “Provides a Total Fluid Exchange®.” Transclean Advertisement, Lams Second Affi, Ex. 68. After Viken had sent a letter to Bridge-wood, on August 8, 1996, which notified it of a possible patent infringement claim, and which bore the subscript “Manufacturer of the patented TFX® Dynamic Total Fluid Exchange System for Vehicular Automatic Transmissions,” Bridgewood began to use, in 1997, the phrase “total fluid exchange” in its advertising. Specifically, an advertising brochure, a three-foot by eight-foot banner, a wall poster, and a ceiling-hung mobile, each prominently featured the words “Total Fluid Exchange” in a wavy, stylized, format that was emblazoned across the entirety of the advertisement. See, Bridgewood Advertisements, Bridgewood App. T6, Larus Second Affi., Exs. 45, 47. In each case, “Total Fluid Exchange” appears as the largest words on the advertisement, and those are the only words that billow in size as they proceed across the display. Bridgewood consistently placed this emblem below the word “T-TECH,” which was its former company name. Id. Bridgewood’s officers never made an effort to determine whether a competitor, or any other entity, claimed ownership of the “Total Fluid Exchange” mark. Burman Depo. at 114. 2. Bridgewood’s Advertising Claims. Given that Transclean’s and Bridgewood’s patents claim a vast improvement in the efficiency of automatic transmission fluid exchange procedures, over the traditional gravity drain method, it is not surprising that both companies attempted to capitalize upon their technological advancements by touting the improved efficiency of their products and, specifically, that they effect a complete exchange of fluids. For its part, Transclean has claimed, in its advertising, that the TFX 5000 device performs a “total” or “complete” fluid exchange, and can replace “all” or “virtually all” of the “used, dirty fluid” in an automatic transmission. See, Transclean Brochures, Bridgewood App. Tl. Bridgewood’s advertisements were somewhat more intrepid — claiming that its product replaces “100%” of a vehicle’s dirty automatic transmission fluid, or that it replaces “all” or “every drop” of used fluid. See, Bridgewood Advertisements, Lams Second Affi., Exs. 36, 38, 40, 43, 47. Bridgewood subsequently scaled back its advertising claim, qualifying its representation to a replacement of “virtually 100%,” and later “nearly 100%” of a vehicle’s used transmission fluid. See, Bridge-wood Advertisements, Lams Second Affi., Exs. 37, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46. Bridgewood’s advertising claims were disseminated to its customers through national trade journals, trade shows, direct mailing, and some of its brochures were transmitted with the delivered machines as promotional materials to be used in repair shops. Burman Depo. at 99-100; Fitzsimons Depo. at 92-94. E. Procedural Posture. The Plaintiffs filed suit against Bridgewood on October 14,1997, claiming that Bridgewood infringed Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 13, of the Viken Patent. After the parties consented to the exercise of jurisdiction by a United States Magistrate Judge, see, Title 28 U.S.C. § 686(c), the Plaintiffs Amended their Complaint, on May 1, 1998, to allege that Bridgewood’s use of the mark “Total Fluid Exchange,” and its advertising claims, violated the Lanham Act, MDTPA, and the Minnesota Consumer Fraud Act. In response, Bridgewood denied these claims, and counterclaimed for a declaration that the Viken Patent is invalid or unenforceable. The Plaintiffs now move for Summary Judgment on their claim that Bridgewood infringed Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, and 12, of the Viken Patent, and on Bridgewood’s affirmative defenses, and counterclaim, that the Viken Patent is invalid or unenforceable. Bridgewood denies that it has infringed any of the claims of the Viken Patent, and maintains that: (1) the Viken Patent is invalid, as anticipated by the Becnel Hydro-Pure device, the Becnel Patent, and the JP 2-72299 prior art reference; (2) the Viken Patent is invalid as obvious; and (3) the Viken Patent is unenforceable because of inequitable conduct before the PTO. Bridgewood moves for Summary Judgment on all the Plaintiffs’ allegations of patent infringement, on its own claims of invalidity and unenforceability, and on the Plaintiffs’ trademark and false advertising claims. III. Discussion A. Arguments and Expert Opinions Considered. At the forefront of the many issues that we must consider, in order to resolve the cross-Motions, is the Plaintiffs’ argument that Bridgewood should be barred from arguing legal theories, and presenting expert opinions, that were not timely disclosed during discovery. The Record shows that Bridgewood’s stated position, on several of the significant issues in this case, has metamorphosed without regard to the time parameters established by our Scheduling Order. The Plaintiffs argue that Bridgewood’s untimely revelation of the factual and legal components of its case has unfairly impaired their ability to conduct discovery with respect to Bridgewood’s ever-evolving allegations, or to effectively address those claims in the confines of the Summary Judgment Motions. With the recommendations of the parties, as expressed in their joint stipulation, our Pretrial Order established three important deadlines, not one of which has been honored. First, the deadline for all discovery in this case was set, after several extensions, at November 15, 1998. Second, as required by Rule 26(a)(2)(B), the deadline for expert disclosures, with respect to the party with the burden of proof on a particular issue, was established at August 3, 1998. Rebuttal expert disclosures were due on August 31,1998. In its Answer to the Amended Complaint and Counterclaims, Bridgewood set forth boilerplate assertions that it had not infringed the Viken Patent, and that the Viken Patent “is invalid or void for failure to comply with the requirements of pat-entability under one or more of the provisions defined at 35 U.S.C. §§ 101, 102, 103 and 112.” Answer to Am.Compl. and Counterclaims ¶ 29-30, 45-46. Before the Complaint was amended, and before Bridgewood served its second Answer and Counterclaim, the Plaintiffs served a set of Interrogatories on Bridgewood to flesh out its position on the issues of infringement, invalidity, and unenforceability. The Plaintiffs asked Bridgewood to “[sjtate all facts and identify all documents” on which Bridgewood based its claim that: (1) it had not infringed the Viken Patent; (2) the Viken Patent was “invalid and/or void”; and (3) the Viken Patent was obtained by virtue of misrepresentations or omissions. Pis. ’ First Set of Interrogatories at 4, Second Larus Ajf, Ex. 85. Bridgewood responded to the Interrogatory, that asked how it had not infringed upon the Viken Patent, by asserting as follows: [Bridgewood] responds that it has not infringed the ’080 because the patent is invalid. The invention of the ’080 Patent was disclosed, or in the alternative, suggested in Japanese Patent No. 2-72299, and in U.S.Patent No. 3,447,636, more than one year prior to the filing of the Application that issued in the ’080 Patent. Also, Claim 1 of the ’080 Patent describes embodiments which are not enabled by the specification. Def.’s Resp. to First Set of Interrogatories at 4, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 86. Bridgewood’s response to the Interrogatory, which inquired into its claims of invalidity, was substantially identical, adding only that the Plaintiffs committed fraud on the PTO by failing to bring JP 2-72299, and U.S.Patent No. 3,447,636, to the Patent Examiner’s attention, and by knowingly concealing the inoperability of the Viken Patent. Id. at 5-6. Bridgewood did not include any denial that its device possessed the elements of the Viken Patent, that the Viken Patent was made obvious by prior art under Title 35 U.S.C. § 103, or that the Viken Paten was anticipated by the Becnel Patent or the Hydro-Pure, in its responses to the Plaintiffs’ First Set of Interrogatories. Moreover, Bridgewood has never supplemented its responses to the Plaintiffs’ discovery requests. Becnel, who serves as Bridgewood’s expert on automatic transmission fluid changing devices, but not on patent issues, timely produced his expert report on August 3, 1998. In it, Becnel claims that, in 1968, he invented and later sold publicly the Hydro-Pure device, which disclosed “all features of at least Claims 1-4 and 13” of the Viken Patent. Declaration of Neil J. Becnel, Sr. ¶ 12, Expert Report of Neil J. Becnel, Sr., Larus Second Aff., Ex. 21. Further, Becnel opined that the Becnel Patent “discloses the features of at least Claims 1-4” of the Viken Patent. Id. ¶ 28. Eugene Johnson (“Johnson”) is Bridge-wood’s patent expert. His report, with respect to patent invalidity, was also due on August 3, 1998, but was not produced until August 31, 1998. Essentially, Johnson’s report concluded that the Viken Patent was anticipated by the Becnel Patent, that Viken made material misrepresentations to the Patent Examiner concerning the Becnel Patent, and that the Bridge-wood device does not infringe Claim 13 of the Viken Patent. Declaration of Eugene L. Johnson, Expert Report of Eugene L. Johnson, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 25. Johnson’s expert report disclosed no opinion as to whether the Viken Patent was anticipated by Becnel’s unpatented Hydro-Pure device or JP 2-72299, that the Viken Patent is invalid as obvious, or that the Bridgewood device did not infringe Claims 1-4 and 12 of the Viken Patent. Shortly thereafter, pursuant to the parties’ agreement, the Court extended the time for taking discovery to November 15, 1998. The Plaintiffs deposed Johnson as to his expert opinions on October 13, 1998. Plaintiffs’ counsel asked Johnson whether he was prepared to offer an opinion as to whether the Bridgewood device infringes Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, or 12. Deposition of Eugene L. Johnson at 53, Larus Second Aff., Ex. 7. Consistent with his expert report, Johnson testified that he paid no attention to those Claims, and offered no opinion concerning them. Id. Discovery closed on November 15, 1998. As of that date, neither Bridgewood’s Interrogatory Responses, its’ experts’ opinions, nor any other responses to discovery, advanced the argument that the Viken Patent: (1) would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art under Title 35 U.S.C. § 103; or (2) with the exception of Claim 13, was not infringed by the Bridgewood device. Bridgewood had not provided the Plaintiffs with qualified expert opinions that supported those two arguments, or any qualified expert opinion that: (1) JP 2-72299 anticipates the claims of the Viken Patent; or (2) Becnel’s unpat-ented Hydro-Pure device invalidates the Viken Patent. More than one month after his deposition, and two days after discovery closed— on November 17, 1998 — Johnson produced a supplemental expert report. The report disclosed, for the first time, his opinions that: (1) JP 2-72299 anticipates the claims of the Viken Patent; and (2) Becnel’s Hydro-Pure device anticipated the claims of the Viken Patent. Supplemental Declaration of Eugene L. Johnson, Second Larus Aff., Ex. 26. Even after this thirteenth-hour expert report, the totality of the discovery, that Bridgewood had provided, contained no assertion that Bridgewood’s device did not infringe any, save Claim 13, of the Viken Patent’s claims, or that the Viken Patent is void as obvious in light of prior art. These last two opinions were only revealed by Bridgewood at the Summary Judgment stage. The Plaintiffs urge that the Court should refuse to consider any argument not disclosed in response to their Interrogatories, which squarely asked Bridgewood to identify its theories of patent invalidity, and the bases of its denial that its device infringes the Viken Patent. In addition, they seek to exclude both of Johnson’s expert reports as untimely under the Pretrial Schedule. The Plaintiffs stress that they have been unfairly ambushed by untimely expert opinions, and arguments, that Bridgewood first raised at the Summary Judgment stage. Rule 26(e)(2), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, imposes upon a party “a duty to .seasonably amend a prior response to an interrogatory *** if the party learns that .the response is in some material respect incomplete or incorrect and if the additional or corrective information has not otherwise been made known to the other parties during the discovery process or in writing.” This Rule has a simple but important purpose; namely, to prevent Trial by ambush. See, Reed v. Iowa Marine and Repair Corp., 16 F.3d 82, 85 (5th Cir.1994). As the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has explained: For litigation to function efficiently, parties must provide clear and accurate responses to discovery requests. Parties are “entitled to accept previous interrogatories as true, and to refrain from seeking additional discovery directed to the same issue.” Elca Enterprises, Inc. v. Sisco Equip. Rental & Sales, Inc., 53 F.3d 186, 189 (8th Cir.1995) (affirming Trial Court’s exclusion of evidence of diminution value damages because “after misleading the defendants for several months,” through incomplete interrogatory responses, the plaintiff “made an eleventh-hour attempt to switch the basis for its alleged damages.”), quoting Averbach v. Rival Mfg. Co., 879 F.2d 1196, 1201 (3rd Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1023, 110 S.Ct. 726, 107 L.Ed.2d 745 (1990). As the latter part of the Rule conveys, “the duty to supplement is excused only if the information at issue has ‘already been revealed by a witness in a deposition or otherwise through formal discovery, or, alternatively, by providing the additional information in writing.’ ” Gonsalves v. City of New Bedford, 168 F.R.D. 102, 110 (D.Mass.1996), quoting 8 Wright, Miller and Marcus, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 2d § 2019.1, p. 604. It is clear that Bridgewood never supplemented its Interrogatory responses to accurately and completely disclose its position with respect to the issues of invalidity, and of infringement of the Viken Patent. Bridgewood claims, however, that all of its present assertions had been made known to the Plaintiffs through its Answer to the Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint, and through other written discovery. Bridge-wood insists, under this rationale, that it has not breached its duty to seasonably amend its Interrogatory responses. With respect to several issues, which are discussed in the ensuing paragraphs, Bridgewood is correct. The Court will first dispense with Bridgewood’s less viable arguments. For example, its suggestion that the boilerplate allegations in its Answer, and Counterclaims, should substitute for Interrogatory responses, and should relieve it of any obligation to supplement any incomplete responses, is plainly wrong. The purpose of contention Interrogatories, such as those propounded by the Plaintiffs, is to narrow and define issues for Trial beyond what may be ascertained from the parties’ pleadings. See, e.g., Starcher v. Correctional Medical Systems, Inc., 144 F.3d 418, 421 (6th Cir.1998) (contention Interrogatories, to which response is ordinarily required, are designed to clarify the scope of an adversary’s claims), aff'd. on other grounds sub nom, Cunningham v. Hamilton County, Ohio, 527 U.S. 198, 119 S.Ct. 1915, 144 L.Ed.2d 184 (1999); Taylor v. F.D.I.C., 132 F.3d 753, 762 (D.C.Cir.1997) (“remedy” for vague and conclusory pleading is contention Interrogatories), quoting Orthmann v. Apple River Campground, Inc., 757 F.2d 909, 915 (7th Cir.1985); Capacchione v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, 182 F.R.D. 486, 489 (W.D.N.C.1998) (proper contention Interrogatories include those which ask a party to “articulate the facts underlying a contention”). The generic assertions in Bridgewood’s pleadings, upon which the Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories attempted to focus, so as to remedy their vagueness, cannot serve as an appropriate surrogate form of supplementation, under Rule 26(e), without wholly frustrating the purpose of such contention Interrogatories. For similar reasons, we cannot agree with Bridgewood’s argument, that its own discovery requests can supply “the additional or corrective information” which was never added to its responses to the Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories. Bridgewood claims that 89 of its 195 Requests for Admissions, which were served on June 2, 1998, and which ask the Plaintiffs to admit that the Viken Patent was anticipated, or rendered obvious by prior art, should have placed the Plaintiffs on notice of Bridgewood’s contentions. See, Requests for Admission Nos. 107-195 to Transclean, Bridgewood App. P26. We are not so persuaded. The Plaintiffs should not be obligated to ferret through Bridgewood’s Requests for Admissions, which do not bind Bridgewood in any way, in order to weave together Bridgewood’s contentions which, otherwise, would be responsive to the Plaintiffs’ Interrogatories. To hold otherwise would be to condone “hide the ball” discovery practices, and subvert the purposes of Rule 26(e), by permitting contention discovery to be an elusive guessing exercise. Only Bridgewood’s discovery responses could properly provide the Plaintiffs with notice of several of their claims before the expiration of the discovery period. Bridgewood’s contention, that the Becnel Patent, the Hydro-Pure, and JP 2-72299 anticipated the Viken Patent, and that the Burman Patent did not infringe Claim 13 of the Viken Patent, were made plain by no later than the end of August of 1998, after Becnel’s and Johnson’s expert reports had been produced. To that extent, alone, Bridgewood has met its obligations under Rule 26(e)(2). When discovery closed on November 15, 1998, the Plaintiffs quite properly relied upon the completeness of Bridge-wood’s responses to their Interrogatories, as supplemented by the other discovery documents that Bridgewood had produced. They had no notice that Bridgewood would argue that the Viken Patent was invalid as obvious under Section 103, or that Bridge-wood was not guilty of infringing Claims 1-4, and 12 of the Viken Patent. Bridge-wood’s latest shift in arguments, after the close of discovery, has precluded the Plaintiffs from conducting discovery on these issues, clearly to the Plaintiffs’ prejudice. Therefore, in order to effectively ameliorate the prejudice caused by the Plaintiffs’ justifiable reliance on Bridgewood’s timely discovery responses, Bridgewood is es-topped from asserting that it did not infringe Claims 1-4, and 12, of the Viken Patent, or that the Viken Patent is obvious in light of prior art. See, Elca Enterprises, Inc. v. Sisco Equip. Rental & Sales, Inc., supra at 189; see also, Clintec Nutrition Co. v. Baxa Corp., 1998 WL 560284 *7 (N.D.Ill.1998) (in patent case, because defendant miscarried “an ongoing obligation to supplement its interrogatory answers,” it “may only offer those theories of claim interpretation that it provided in its interrogatory answers.”). Summary Judgment in favor of the Plaintiffs is granted on those issues and, correlatively, is denied to Bridgewood. The suggested exclusion of Johnson’s expert report, and supplemental expert report, necessitates a somewhat different analysis, although the bedrock consideration, that unfair surprise should be prevented, remains a critical consideration. See, Sylla-Sawdon v. Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., 47 F.3d 277, 284 (8th Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 822, 116 S.Ct. 84, 133 L.Ed.2d 42 (1995). Under Rule 37(c)(1), “[a] party that *** fails to disclose information required by Rule 26(a) or 26(e)(1) shall not be ’permitted to use [the materials not disclosed] at a trial, at a hearing, or on a motion,” “unless such failure is harmless,” or there was “substantial justifieation” for that failure. In addition, Rule 16(f) authorizes a District Court to impose sanctions for the breach of a Pretrial Order. In applying these Rules, we recognize that “the failure to disclose in a timely manner is equivalent to failure to disclose,” and that a party must produce the required evidence “within deadlines set by the court or risk sanctions under Rules 16 and 37.” Trost v. Trek Bicycle Corp., 162 F.3d 1004, 1008 (8th Cir.1998). While sanctions under Rule 37(c)(1) are mandatory, as we have noted, exclusion of evidence should not apply if the offending party’s failure was “substantially justified,” or if the failure was “harmless.” These exceptions to Rule 37(c)(l)’s imperative serve “to avoid unduly harsh penalties” that may result from an inflexible application of the Rule. Rule 37(c), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Advisory Committee Notes — 1993 Amendments. In determining whether the automatic exclusion provisions of Rule 37(c)(1) should apply, the Court should consider the following four factors in assessing the substantiality of any proffered justification for the failure to disclose, as well as the harmlessness of that failure: 1) the importance of the excluded material; 2) the explanation of the party for its failure to comply with the required disclosure; 3) the potential prejudice that would arise from allowing the material to be used at Trial, or on a Motion; and, 4) the availability of a continuance to cure such prejudice. See, Citizens Bank v. Ford Motor Co., 16 F.3d 965, 966 (8th Cir.1994); Millen v. Mayo Foundation, 170 F.R.D. 462, 465 (1996); see also, Trilogy Communications, Inc. v. Times Fiber Communications, Inc., 109 F.3d 739, 744 (Fed.Cir.1997). It is beyond dispute that Johnson’s expert report, and supplemental report, which were produced on August 31, 1998, and November 17, 1998, respectively, were untimely under our Scheduling Order. The untimeliness of Johnson’s first expert report was harmless for, after that report was produced, discovery was extended for an additional 45 days, in order to allow for a full inquiry into Johnson’s opinions. Indeed, Johnson was deposed on the subject matter contained in his original report and, therefore, Johnson’s expert report should not be excluded at Trial. On the other hand, in view of the fact that the untimely disclosure of Johnson’s supplemental report denied the Plaintiffs an opportunity to depose Johnson on the new opinions which were added to his initial report, Bridge-wood does not fare well under the four-factor test that we are obligated to apply to facially untimely expert disclosures. Unquestionably, the material that the Plaintiffs seek to exclude in Johnson’s supplemental report is important. His supplemental report contains the only qualified expert opinions by Bridgewood, that JP 2-72299 anticipates the claims of the Viken Patent, and that Becnel’s unpatent-ed Hydro-Pure device invalidates the Viken Patent. In view of their importance, however, Bridgewood’s failure to present a cogent justification for its failure to disclose those opinions, until after discovery had closed, is all the more confounding. Bridgewood explains that “[e]xpert reports were amended as new information became available.” Def.’s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. at 14. Yet, it identifies no piece of information, that Johnson is said to have relied upon, which was not available to Bridgewood earlier in the discovery process. By every appearance, all of the materials Johnson relied upon, in formulating his new opinions, had been in Bridge-wood’s possession from the very early stages of the litigation. In any event, as the Court explained in Trost, if Bridgewood had a legitimate need to await receiving certain information, before Johnson could disclose his opinions regarding the Hydro-Pure device and JP 2-72299, “then [its] proper course of action would have been to seek an extension of the deadline.” See, Trost v. Trek Bicycle Corp., supra at 1008. In sum, because Bridgewood arrogated to itself the right to override the deadlines of our Pre-trial Schedule, and did so to the Plaintiffs’ prejudice, and since it is now unable to justify its decision to do so, Bridgewood’s violation of the Scheduling Order has not been substantially justified. The final two factors, which concern the “harmlessness” prong of Rule 37(c)(1), also commend the exclusion of Johnson’s supplemental report. The prejudice to the Plaintiffs, in being confronted by expert opinions which were not disclosed until after the period of discovery had elapsed, is compelling. Although a continuance, and a reopening of discovery, might alleviate some of the prejudice inflicted by unfair surprise, such a remedy would wreak its own distinctive prejudice, by unnecessarily prolonging the pretrial processing of the Plaintiffs’ claims, with the attendant expense of further discovery, and prolonged Motion practice. Id. at 1009. The belated disclosure of Johnson’s supplemental expert opinions is not harmless. Therefore, in accordance with Rules 16(f) and 37(c)(1), Johnson’s supplemental expert report shall be stricken, and we will not consider its contents for purposes of the Motions before us. With the Record, and the issues before us, so refined, we turn to the substance of the Summary Judgment Motions, which include a myriad of overlapping contentions. Counsel are commended for the assistance they have provided the Court by their comprehensive, and well-reasoned arguments, which have served to pinpoint the critical distinctions in their respective views. B. Standard for Summary Judgment. The law is settled that the same Summary Judgment standard is to be applied, in Motions involving patent claims, as is applicable in other actions. See, Union Carbide Corp. v. American Can Co., 724 F.2d 1567, 1571 (Fed.Cir.1984); Itron, Inc. v. CellNet Data Systems, Inc., 34 F.Supp.2d 1135, 1138 (D.Minn.1999), citing Avia Group Int’l, Inc. v. L.A. Gear California, Inc., 853 F.2d 1557, 1561 (Fed.Cir.1988). No matter the context in which the Motion arises, Summary Judgment is not an acceptable means of resolving triable issues, nor is it a disfavored procedural shortcut when there are no issues which require the unique proficiencies of a Jury in weighing the evidence, and in rendering credibility determinations. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Summary Judgment is appropriate, when we have viewed the facts, and the inferences drawn from those facts, in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and we have found no triable issue. Carter v. St. Louis Univ., 167 F.3d 398, 400 (8th Cir.1999); Southwall Technologies, Inc. v. Cardinal IG Co., 54 F.3d 1570, 1575 (Fed.Cir.1995), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 987, 116 S.Ct. 515, 133 L.Ed.2d 424 (1995). For these purposes, a disputed fact is “material” if it must inevitably be resolved and the resolution will determine the outcome of the case, while a dispute is “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable Jury could return a Verdict for the non-moving party. See, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Liebe v. Norton, 157 F.3d 574, 578 (8th Cir.1998); Bubble Room, Inc. v. United States, 159 F.3d 553, 561 (Fed.Cir.1998). As Rule 56(e) makes clear, once the moving party files a properly supported Motion, the burden shifts to the nonmov-ing party to demonstrate the existence of a genuine dispute. In sustaining that burden, “an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the adverse party’s pleading, but the adverse party’s response, by affidavit or as otherwise provided in this Rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Rule 56(e), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; see also, Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., supra at 256, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Chism v. W.R. Grace & Co., 158 F.3d 988, 990 (8th Cir.1998); Conroy v. Reebok Intern., Ltd., 14 F.3d 1570, 1577 (Fed.Cir.1994). Moreover, the movant is entitled to Summary Judgment where the non-moving party has failed “to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s cáse, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, supra at 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548; see also, Greer v. Shoop, 141 F.3d 824, 826 (8th Cir.1998); Mayard v. Hopwood, 105 F.3d 1226, 1228 (8th Cir.1997). No genuine issue of fact exists in such a case because “a complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the nonmoving party’s case necessarily renders all other facts immaterial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, supra at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548; see also, Bell Lumber and Pole Co. v. United States Fire Ins. Co., 60 F.3d 437, 441 (8th Cir.1995); London v. Carson Pirie Scott & Co., 946 F.2d 1534, 1537 (Fed.Cir.1991). C. Legal Analysis. 1. The Patent Issues. Analysis of whether an accused product infringes a patent claim, and whether the patent-in-suit is invalid as anticipated by prior art, each involve two steps. In a patent infringement analysis: The first step is determining the meaning and scope of the patent claims asserted to be infringed. The second step is comparing the properly construed claims to the device accused of infringing. Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. (‘Markman I”), 52 F.3d 967, 976 (Fed.Cir.1995) (en banc), aff'd, 517 U.S. 370, 116 S.Ct. 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996). Likewise, a determination of obviousness begins with a construction of the patent claims, followed by a comparison of the properly construed claims to the prior art. Key Pharmaceuticals v. Hercon Laboratories Corp., 161 F.3d 709, 714 (Fed.Cir.1998). However, even if a patent is otherwise valid, if the Court determines “that inequitable conduct occurred in relation to one or more claims during prosecution of the patent application, the entire patent is rendered unenforceable.” Kingsdown Medical Consultants v. Hollister, Inc., 863 F.2d 867, 877 (Fed.Cir.1988) (en banc), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1067, 109 S.Ct. 2068, 104 L.Ed.2d 683 (1989). a. Claim Construction. We begin, therefore, with a construction of Claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 12, and 13, of the Viken Patent. The construction of these claims is crucial to the parties’ respective arguments with respect to infringement, invalidity, and to the materiality of Viken’s disclosures to the PTO. Accordingly, the claim construction process deserves our close analysis. I. Methodology. The construction of patent claims is a legal determination, exclusively within the province of the Court. Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. (“Markman II”), 517 U.S. 370, 391, 116 S.Ct. 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996). On Summary Judgment, any factual issues underlying claim interpretation are not considered in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, as the determination is to be made by the Court in the first instance. Cf., Cybor v. FAS Technologies, Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1456 (Fed.Cir.1998) (en banc) (stating that questions of construction are questions of law for the Judge, and not questions of fact for the Jury); see also, Personalized Media Communications, LLC v. International Trade Com’n (“Personalized Media II"), 178 F.3d 1312, 1999 WL 13384 *2 (Fed.Cir.1999) (Table Decision) (“[Tjhere are no facts underlying claim interpretation which must be viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.”). The construction of patent claims requires an examination of the intrinsic evidence of Record, which includes: (1) the patent itself, including the claims; (2) the specification; and (3) the prosecution history. Burke, Inc. v. Bruno Independent Living Aids, Inc., 183 F.3d 1334, 1339 (Fed.Cir.1999); Spectrum Int’l, Inc. v. Sterilite Corp., 164 F.3d 1372, 1378 (Fed.Cir.1998). This evidence is “the most significant source of legally operative meaning of disputed claim language.” Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic, Inc., 90 F.3d 1576, 1582 (Fed.Cir.1996). In addition, “[t]he court may receive extrinsic evidence to educate itself about the invention and the relevant technology, but the court may not use extrinsic evidence to arrive at a claim construction that is clearly at odds with the construction mandated by the intrinsic evidence.” Karlin Technology, Inc. v. Surgical Dynamics, Inc., 177 F.3d 968, 971 (Fed.Cir.1999). “Claim interpretation begins with the language of the claim itself.” National Recovery Technologies, Inc. v. Magnetic Separation Systems, Inc., 166 F.3d 1190, 1195 (Fed.Cir.1999), citing Bell Communications Research, Inc. v. Vitalink Communications Corp., 55 F.3d 615, 619 (Fed.Cir.1995). The terms of a claim should be given their ordinary meaning unless the inventor intended that the terms should be construed otherwise. Karlin Technology, Inc. v. Surgical Dynamics, Inc., supra at 971; York Prods., Inc. v. Central Tractor Farm & Family Ctr., 99 F.3d 1568, 1572 (Fed.Cir.1996). Thus, a patentee may elect to be his or her own lexicographer, but must do so by clearly setting forth an explicit definition for a claim term. Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc. v. Zebco Corp., 175 F.3d 985, 990 (Fed.Cir.1999); Sextant Avionique, S.A. v. Analog Devices, Inc., 172 F.3d 817, 825 (Fed.Cir.1999). Usually, the specification is dispositive in claim construction, as “ ‘it is the single best guide to the meaning of a disputed claim term.’” Wright Medical Technology, Inc. v. Osteonics Corp., 122 F.3d 1440, 1443 (Fed.Cir.1997), quoting Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic, Inc., supra at 1582. As noted, a Court may consider extrinsic evidence, such as expert testimony or dictionaries, “ ‘to aid the court in coming to a correct conclusion’ as to the ‘true meaning of the language employed’ in the patent.” Markman I, supra at 1080. However, the Federal Circuit has cautioned against excessive reliance on such extrinsic evidence because, to permit “the public record to be altered or changed by extrin