Intellectual Property Law

Claim construction and finding of noninfringement affirmed

By McKee, Voorhees & Sease, P.L.C.

In a decision Wednesday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's claim construction and grant of summary judgment of non-infringement.  The patent holder's proposed claim interpretation relied heavily on means-plus-function language and an embodiment in the specification not covered by the claim construction.

The Federal Circuit found that the failure to use clear "means-plus-function language" created a rebuttable presumption that the language recited structural limitations. The court was not troubled by the excluded embodiment and held that the district court's interpretation was well-supported by the specification.

The patent holder also argued that the district court erred by finding no infringement under the doctrine of equivalents. The Federal Circuit affirmed the district court, holding the patent holder's application of the doctrine of equivalents improper as it would have completely eliminated one or more limitations of the claims.

More concerning TIP Sys. v. Phillips & Brooks/Gladwin, Inc. after the jump.

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Full post as published by FileWrapper on June 20, 2008 (boomark / email).