Agreed — but I'd imagine that intentional failure to disclose best mode could still be a basis for an inequitable-conduct holding. (It's been a few years since

Agreed — but I'd imagine that intentional failure to disclose best mode could still be a basis for an inequitable-conduct holding. (It's been a few years since I did patent work; a quick search in scholar.google.com didn't reveal any case law on point.) And in a close case, in jurors' minds, evidence of a best-mode failure might help tip the balance against validity on other grounds.