by Steve Driskill | Feb 4, 2013 | [sub] common terms, Claim Interpretation
In my opinion, the court went out of its way to save a poorly drafted claim and relied too heavily on the specification for claim language that was on its face not ambiguous (especially for a claim that was not original). Despite acknowledging that “[a]t first glance”...
by Steve Driskill | Jan 17, 2013 | [sub] common terms, Claim Interpretation
This is a cautionary tale of how some claims may be easily designed around when the competitor is willing to sacrifice some functionality. Undoubtedly, the drafter here probably thought about the product and how it makes sense to naturally transmit all the data you...
by Steve Driskill | Dec 12, 2012 | [sub] common terms, Claim Interpretation
Be careful what you wish for. While terms like “substantially” give you some flexibility in asserting infringement and protecting against design-arounds, they also open you up to a broader range of prior art attacks. If these terms are necessary, the specification and...
by Steve Driskill | Oct 17, 2012 | [sub] common terms, Claim Interpretation
While the patentee’s infringement theory here was tenuous at best, the main takeaway is clear and commonsensical. The term “user” generally refers to a person or party, not an electronic device. If at all possible (and it may not have been for the underlying subject...
by Steve Driskill | Oct 9, 2012 | [sub] common terms, [sub] specification, Claim Interpretation, Estoppel / Disclaimer
(1) The general rule is that the use of the indefinite articles “a” or “an” in open-ended claims containing the transitional phrase “comprising” means “one or more,” unless “the language of the claims themselves, the specification, or the prosecution history...
by Steve Driskill | Aug 20, 2012 | [sub] common terms, Claim Interpretation
The term “automatically” does not exclude all possible human intervention, and may include human actions to expressly initiate the automatic functions (e.g., querying, generating, transmitting, or receiving), or to interrupt such functions. Nevertheless, the use of...
