Archive for November, 2017

Means-Plus-Function Claims – A Real World Example – Part 3

Saturday, November 25th, 2017

In the last few posts, I discussed how to interpret “means plus function” clauses and have gone into great depth analyzing the U.S. 6,289,319 Patent issued to Lockwood as an example.  In this post, I will, at long last, finalize my analysis of the first “means-plus-function” claim element of U.S. 6,289,319 Patent. Recall from previous […]

Means-Plus-Function Claims – A Real World Example – Part 2

Sunday, November 19th, 2017

In the last few posts, I discussed how to interpret “means plus function” clauses and used the U.S. 6,289,319 Patent as an example.  In this post, I will continue my analysis of certain claim elements of the U.S. 6,289,319 Patent. I apologize in advance for the length of this post. Recall from previous posts, the […]

Interpreting Means-Plus-Function Claims – A Real World Example

Sunday, November 12th, 2017

In my last post, I discussed how courts construe “means plus function” clauses in a patent claim.  I also discussed the danger for patent owners when they rely upon means plus function clauses if there is no corresponding structure and/or no clear link to the structure in the patent specification. Recall that “means-plus-function” clauses are […]

Interpreting Means Plus Function Claims

Saturday, November 11th, 2017

In a previous post, I explained that when courts usually interpret or “construe” claim terms, they first look to the plain and ordinary meaning of the claims, then they look to the specification for unique definitions or use of the terms, they also look to the prosecution history, and finally they review extrinsic sources, such […]

Interpreting Patent Claims

Monday, November 6th, 2017

A patent is a bargain an inventor makes with the government.  The inventor increases public knowledge by disclosing the invention.  In return, if the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) believes that invention meets the statutory requirements, the inventor receives a monopoly as defined by the claims of the patent.  Thus, patents may be thought […]