The Federal Circuit's En Banc Consideration of Claim Construction in Phillips v. AWH Corp.

Federal Circuit decisions on how to interpret patent claim language are critically important. Unfortunately, however, recent Federal Circuit decisions do not reflect a unitary approach to patent claim interpretation. On July 21, 2004, the Federal Circuit issued an order granting a petition to rehear <i>en banc</i> the appeal in <i>Phillips v. AWH Corp.</i>, 363 F.3d 1207 (Fed. Cir. 2004). The court "determined to hear this case <i>en banc</i> in order to resolve issues concerning the construction of patent claims," and invited the parties as well as <i>amicus curiae</i> to submit briefs on seven very specific questions relating to claim construction methodology and review on appeal. This article analyzes the <i>Phillips en banc</i> appeal focusing on the <i>amicus</i> briefing and responses to the Federal Circuit's seven questions.

32 minute read February 25, 2005 at 08:32 AM

By

Robert F. Kramer And Marc J. Pernick