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Construing Patent Claims In Light Of The Specification Versus Importing Claim Limitations From The Specification: Is There Any Difference?, Robbie R. Harmer

Robbie R Harmer

Patent litigation often turns on the meaning of words in patent claims. Though litigants, licensees, assignees, and examiners at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) all must interpret, or construe, patent claims at some point in the lifetime of a patent, judges have the final say as to the scope and meaning of the words in patent claims. Judges’ interpretive methodologies raise questions about the relationship between the claims and the specification. The Federal Circuit, having exclusive appellate jurisdiction over patents, has established that courts should construe patent claims “in light of” the patent specification. On the other hand, …