When you have a patent claim, there’s a lot that can be left to interpretation. Claim construction is the process of prescribing meaning to a patent claim by prescribing meaning to selected claim terms. Our highly experienced experts can provide valuable guidance in selecting appropriate, well-supported, and beneficial definitions of claim terms.
It is critically important for a case that there are strong and supportive claim term definitions that the court and the jury can use to understand the patent claims and to base judgment around. Having an experienced expert witness to assist with the “claim construction” process will greatly aid at the beginning of a patent dispute case and help set the case up for success.
This claim construction process is a pretrial process that is used for patent disputes during what is called the Markman Hearing – sometimes even referred to as the “Claim Construction Hearing.” The Claim Construction Hearing has been an essential part of patent dispute trials since the United States Supreme Court made it common practice in 1996 after Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. It is important to know that cases can be made or broken during this crucial hearing.
Even after the claim construction process is complete, not all claim terms are construed so there are still pieces that are left to interpretation by the court. That said, the claim construction process is critically important for both plaintiffs and defendants as the constructions of the claim terms will guide the court and the jury in interpreting and understanding the true scope of the claims of a patent.
When you’re dealing with an important legal case, having an experienced expert working with you to provide guidance on appropriate, well supported, and beneficial definitions of claims terms is critical and is a core competency of our group of experts.