Have We Made Ourselves Clear?
Who says claim construction is difficult? Who says it's unpredictable? Nonsense! Claim construction is easy! Anyone can do it. You simply follow the clear guidelines set out by the Federal Circuit.
And where do you find those?
That's easy too. The Federal Circuit has helpfully set them out in today's en banc decision in Phillips v. AWH Corporation. Just read it -- all fifty-six pages of it.
Start with the majority opinion by Judges Bryson, Michel, Clevenger, Rader, Schall, Gajarsa, Linn, Dyk and Prost. And check out the additional views of Judge Lourie, who joins with respect to parts I, II, III, V and VI, and those of Judge Newman who joins with respect to parts I, II, III, and V. But don't forget Judge Lourie's dissent-in-part in which Judge Newman joins. And then there's the dissent from Judge Mayer, in which Judge Newman joins. But trust me, it makes sense. It really does. I'm so grateful the court has made things clear.
Continue Reading...The Empire Strikes Back?
Well, things have been quite busy around here the last month or so, with an oral argument before the Federal Circuit last month and a case going to trial in a couple of weeks. Although I haven't posted in a while, I still find time to keep up with the so-called "patent reform" efforts currently underway before Congress.
An article from the Boston Globe today indicates that there is indeed a serious effort being made by very powerful interests to undermine the effectiveness of patents for individuals and small businesses. Nothing really new here -- just the same old stuff about patent trolls and the basic unfairness of expecting big business to obey the patent laws too. The twist here is that, according to the major software companies, the semi-recent Eolas decision will have the "unintended consequence of sending more tech jobs outside the US."
Funny, I alway thought it was big companies looking for ever cheaper labor who sent tech jobs outside the US.
