Claim Construction Sample Clauses
The Claim Construction clause defines how the specific terms and language used in a contract or patent claim are to be interpreted. In practice, this clause sets the rules for understanding ambiguous or technical words, often referencing industry standards, dictionaries, or the context within the document itself. Its core function is to ensure that all parties have a shared understanding of key terms, thereby reducing disputes over interpretation and providing clarity in the event of disagreements.
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Claim Construction. Claim construction is the first step in analyzing an allegation of patent infringement and must be decided by the court, because it is a question of law, See ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ v. Westview Instruments. Inc., ▇▇▇ ▇.▇. ▇▇▇, 372 (1996). Until the claim has been construed, it is not possible to make the factual determination that is the second step of the infringement analysis: whether the accused product or method infringes the claims of the patent. It is black letter law that claim construction begins and usually ends with a consideration of “intrinsic evidence” only, that is, the claims themselves, the written description portion of the patent specification and the patent’s prosecution history. See, e.g., Digital Biometrics, Inc. v. Identix, Inc., 149 F.3d 1335, 1343-44 (Fed. Cir. 1998). A court is to give claim terms their ordinary meaning, unless the inventor has made it clear in the patent or file history that the term has a special meaning. See, e.g.,