Claim Construction

Claim construction is the process of deciding what the words of a patent claim mean as a matter of law. Because infringement and validity are both measured against the construed claim, the meaning assigned to a disputed term frequently decides the case before any evidence reaches a jury. District courts ordinarily construe terms after briefing and a hearing, and the Federal Circuit reviews the result de novo except for subsidiary findings about extrinsic evidence, which it reviews for clear error. The opinions collected here include Markman orders construing disputed terms, rulings on whether a term is governed by the means-plus-function provision, and appellate decisions revisiting a construction. Many run to dozens of terms and several hundred pages.

2,225 opinions and orders, showing 2,201–2,225.

• March 28, 2005 Fed. Cir. Howmedica Osteonics Corporation, v. Tranquil Prospects, Ltd., No. 04-1302 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 28, 2005) Reversed in Part
• March 22, 2005 Fed. Cir. Asyst Technologies v. Emtrak, No. 04-1048 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 22, 2005) Affirmed in Part
• March 16, 2005 Fed. Cir. ASM America, Inc. v. Genus, Inc., No. 04-1211 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 16, 2005) Affirmed
• March 15, 2005 Fed. Cir. V-Formation, Inc. v. Benetton Group SPA, No. 03-1408 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 15, 2005) Affirmed
• March 11, 2005 Fed. Cir. Sentry Protection Products, Inc. v. Eagle Manufacturing Co., No. 04-1392 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 11, 2005) Affirmed in Part
• March 7, 2005 Fed. Cir. Iowa State University Research Found. v. Wiley Organics, No. 04-1326 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 7, 2005) Vacated & Remanded
• March 7, 2005 Fed. Cir. Playtex Products v. Procter & Gamble Company, No. 04-1200 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 7, 2005) Affirmed in Part
• March 2, 2005 Fed. Cir. Eolas Technologies v. Microsoft, No. 04-1234 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 2, 2005) Affirmed in Part
• February 8, 2005 Fed. Cir. Alltrade Tools v. Olympia Group, No. 04-1090 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 8, 2005) Affirmed
• February 2, 2005 Fed. Cir. IEX Corp. v. Blue Pumpkin Software, No. 04-1068 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 2, 2005) Vacated & Remanded
• January 28, 2005 Fed. Cir. Merck & Co. v. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, No. 04-1005 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 28, 2005) Reversed
• January 6, 2005 Fed. Cir. Freeman v. Gerber Products Company, No. 04-1203 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 6, 2005) Reversed
• January 6, 2005 Fed. Cir. NCR Corpporation v. Palm, Inc., No. 04-1093 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 6, 2005) Affirmed
• January 6, 2005 Fed. Cir. Business Objects, S.A. v. Microstrategy, No. 04-1009 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 6, 2005) Affirmed in Part
• December 23, 2004 Fed. Cir. Anheuser-Busch, ET AL. v. Crown Cork & Seal Technologies, ET AL., No. 04-1185 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 23, 2004) Affirmed in Part
• December 14, 2004 Fed. Cir. NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion, Ltd., No. 03-1615 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 14, 2004) Affirmed in Part
• December 14, 2004 Fed. Cir. Versa Corporation v. Ag-Bag International Limited, No. 03-1445 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 14, 2004) Reversed
• December 10, 2004 Fed. Cir. Alza Corporation, ET AL. v. Mylan Laboratories, Inc., ET AL., No. 04-1344 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 10, 2004) Affirmed in Part
• December 1, 2004 Fed. Cir. Slip Track Systems, Inc. v. Metal Lite, Inc., No. 04-1070 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 1, 2004) Affirmed in Part
• November 30, 2004 Fed. Cir. Frank’S Casing Crew & Rental Tools v. Weatherford International, No. 03-1519 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 30, 2004) Affirmed
• November 19, 2004 Fed. Cir. Catalina Marketing International, Inc. v. Coolsavings.Com, Inc., ET AL., No. 03-1548 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 19, 2004) Affirmed
• October 29, 2004 Fed. Cir. C.R. Bard, ET AL. v. U.S. Surgical Corp., No. 04-1135 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 29, 2004) Affirmed
• October 13, 2004 Fed. Cir. On-Line Technologies v. Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer GmbH, ET AL., No. 04-1291 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 13, 2004) Affirmed in Part
• October 7, 2004 Fed. Cir. Bilstad, ET AL. v. Wakalopulos, ET AL., No. 03-1528 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 7, 2004) Affirmed in Part
• October 7, 2004 Fed. Cir. Fuji Photo Film, Co., Ltd., v. International Trade Commission, ET AL., No. 03-1016 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 7, 2004) Affirmed in Part