Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., [2022-1889] (November 6, 2023), the Federal Circuit vacated the district court’s claim construction order with respect to the term “a pH of 13 or higher” in U.S. Patent Nos. 8,318,802 and 8,598,227 and the judgment of infringement, and remand for the district court to consider the extrinsic evidence and its impact on claim construction.  The patents in suit were directed to improved epoprostenol formulations.

The claim required “the bulk solution has a pH of 13 or higher.”  Both parties proposed the plain and ordinary meaning of the term but disagreed on what that means.  Actelion argued that “a pH of 13” in the context of the asserted claims is “a value of acidity that is given as an order of magnitude that is subject to rounding.”  More specifically, Actelion’s proposal would allow a pH of 12.5, which rounds to 13, to read on the claim limitation of “a pH of 13 or higher.” By contrast, Mylan argued that the proper construction cannot cover any pH values less than 13.

The Federal Circuit said that there was no blanket rule that ranges, or specifically open-ended ranges, must foreclose rounding.  Unlike other claim terms, the disputed claim term lacks approximation language like “about.”  Mylan argued, “13” and “about 13” would both imply rounding, making the approximation language superfluous.  Actelion argued that rounding is required because approximation language like “about” signals different variations than those of rounding. Actelion also argued that “it is not practically possible to measure exact pH values” because to get an “exact” measurement “one would have to count every hydrogen ion in solution, which is not scientifically possible.”  Ultimately, the Federal Circuit did not find the absence of approximation language dispositive here, and rejected any invitation to create a bright-line rule.

The specification revealed that the inventor inconsistently described the level of specificity for a pH of 13.  The specification explains that “[t]he pH of the bulk solution is preferably adjusted to about 12.5-13.5, most preferably 13.”  Mylan argues that this shows that the inventor (1) knew how to use approximation language when it wanted (“about 12.5-13.5”) and chose not to for a pH of 13; (2) distinguished a pH value of “12.5” from that of “13”; and (3) distinguished a range (“12.5-13.5”) from a definite value (“13”).  Actelion countered that “13” should allow rounding or else a preferred embodiment of the invention, meaning a pH of about 12.5 to 13.5, would be excluded from the claim scope.

The specification seems to equate a pH of “13.0” to that of “13.” Example 4 describes screening several “formulations with the pH of bulk solution . . . adjusted between 10.5 and 13.0.” ’802 patent col. 10 ll. 63–64. Tables 8 and 9 show the resulting stability data and display a bulk solution pH as “13” with no decimal point. Mylan argues that this shows that the inventor equated a pH of “13” with “13.0.”  The Federal Circuit noted that the specification uses both “13” and “13.0”—and various degrees of precision for pH values generally—throughout. In other words, the specification supplies the same clarity as to the desired level of precision as muddied water.

Turning to the prosecution history, the Federal Circuit note that the inventor amended the claim language at issue several times, and that the Examiner said that the inventor had demonstrated that for a pH of 13 “there is a significant difference.”

The Federal Circuit said that this case was one where the proper claim construction cannot be reached without the aid of extrinsic evidence, and that the district court should have considered, at minimum, the textbook excerpts offered and addressed by the parties. The Supreme Court has made clear that there are cases where the district court must “look beyond the patent’s intrinsic evidence and . . . consult extrinsic evidence in order to understand, for example, the background science or the meaning of a term in the relevant art during the relevant time period.” The Federal Circuit vacated the district court’s judgment of infringement, and remand for the district court to consider the extrinsic evidence and its impact on claim construction.

In Corephotonics, Ltd., v. Apple Inc., [2022-1340, 2022-1341, 2022-1455, 2022-1456] (October 16, 2023) the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB’s determination that two references were analogous prior art, while vacating and remanding the Board’s obviousness determination for the Board to explain why a third reference — Martin — is (or is not) analogous art and how this finding affects its overall conclusion as to obviousness.  The Challenged Patents relate to dual-aperture camera systems and disclose techniques for using the images from both lenses when zooming while capturing video.

Prior art references are applicable to the obviousness inquiry only when they are analogous to the claims being challenged. See In re Clay, 966 F.2d 656, 658 (Fed. Cir. 1992); see also In re Bigio, 381 F.3d 1320, 1325 (Fed. Cir. 2004). Art that is “too remote” from the patents being attacked cannot be treated as prior art.  The Federal Circuit uses two separate tests to define the scope of analogous art: (1) whether the art is from the same field of endeavor, regardless of the problem addressed and, (2) if the reference is not within the field of the inventor’s endeavor, whether the reference still is reasonably pertinent to the particular problem with which the inventor is involved.

Apple’s petitions were ambiguous; they did not make clear whether Apple was stating that Golan and Martin are in the same field of endeavor as the Challenged Patents or, instead, merely that Golan and Martin are in the same field of endeavor as one another. The Board wrote, “Martin is reasonably pertinent to the problem faced by the inventor: reducing an image jump effect seen in video output images when switching between cameras that have different fields of view. Apple and Corephotonics agree that these two sentences are, as written, incorrect: Martin does not disclose switching between cameras with different fields of view; rather, it is addressed to cameras with different points of view.  The Federal Circuit was unable We are unable to discern if the Board’s error was, in fact, merely typographical and harmless or, instead, a potentially-impactful error of substance. This prevented the Federal Circuit from concluding either that there is, or is not, substantial evidence to support the Board’s conclusion that Martin is analogous art to the Challenged Patents.  Accordingly, the Federal Circuit remanded to the Board for further explanation and, if needed, further fact finding.

In Century Electric Co. v. Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co., 191 F. 350 (8th Cir. 1911), the Eighth Circuit had in interesting perspective on claim construction. The Eighth Circuit said that a patent “is a contract made by the acceptance by the government of the offer which the patentee by his application makes to disclose his invention, in consideration that the United States will secure to him the exclusive use and sale of it for 17 years,”

The Court continued:

The offer embodied in the application becomes the specification of his patent, if his offer is accepted, and with his claims evidences the terms of the agreement. Such an agreement is interpreted by the same rules that determine other contracts. The court, should, as far as possible, place itself in the situation of the parties when they made their agreement and then seek to ascertain from the terms of their contract, in the light of the circumstances then surrounding them, what their intention was.

This intention should be deduced from the entire contract and not from any part of it or without any part of it, because they did not agree to it, or to any part of it, without every other part of it. The specification which forms a part of the same application as the claims must be read and interpreted with them, not for the purpose of limiting, or of contracting, or of expanding, the latter, but for the purpose of ascertaining from the entire agreement, of which each is a part, the actual intention of the parties and that intention when ascertained should prevail over the dry words and inapt expressions of the contract evidenced by the patent, its specification and claims.

Modern claim construction seem more rule-bound, and might be improved if animated by the purpose to determine what the inventor invented, not what the claims literally say.

In Salazar v. AT&T Mobility LLC, [2021-2320, 2021-2376] (April 5, 2023), the Federal Circuit affirmed judgment of noninfringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,802,467 describing technology for wireless and wired communications.

Claim 1 of the ‘467 patent required “a microprocessor for generating a plurality of control signals used to operate said system, said microprocessor creating a plurality of reprogrammable communication protocols, for transmission to said external devices wherein each communication protocol includes a command code set that defines the signals that are employed to communicate with each one of said external devices.”  The district court construed the court construed “a microprocessor” to mean one microprocessor.”

On appeal, Salazar argued that the court should have interpreted a microprocessor” to require one or more microprocessors, any one of which may be capable of performing each of the “generating,” “creating,” and “retrieving” functions recited in the claims.

The Federal Circuit explained that the indefinite article “a” means “‘one or more’ in open-ended claims containing the transitional phrase ‘comprising.’” The Court said an exception to the general rule that “a”  means more than one only arises where the language of the claims themselves, the specification, or the prosecution history necessitate a departure from the rule.”   The Federal Circuit further explained that the use of the term “said” indicates that this portion of the claim limitation is a reference back to the previously claimed” term.  The claim term “said” is an “anaphoric phrase, referring to the initial antecedent phrase”. The subsequent use of the definite article ‘said’ in a claim to refer back to the same claim term does not change the general plural rule, but simply reinvokes that non-singular meaning.”

The Federal Circuit reviewed prior cases interpreting “a” and noted in particular In re Varma, 816

F.3d 1352 (Fed. Cir. 2016), which the district court had explained that the claim term provided certain functions that the “said microprocessor” must be “necessarily configured to perform as well as the structural relationship between ‘said microprocessor’ and other structural elements.”  Thus, the district court reasoned, “at least one microprocessor must satisfy all the functional (and relational) limitations recited for ‘said microprocessor.’ On appeal, Salazar’s argued that a correct claim construction would encompass one microprocessor capable of performing one claimed function and another microprocessor capable of performing a different claimed function, even if no one microprocessor could perform all of the recited functions.  The Federal Circuit rejected this argument, agreeing with the district court that while the claim term “a microprocessor” does not require there be only one microprocessor, the subsequent limitations referring back to “said microprocessor” require that at least one microprocessor be capable of performing each of the claimed functions, which the Court said was “entirely consistent” with it precedents. The Court noted that, as it stated in Varma, for a dog owner to have a dog that rolls over and fetches sticks, it does not suffice that he have two dogs, each able to perform just one of the tasks.

In SSI Technologies, LLC v, Dongguan Zhengyang Electronic Mechanical Ltd., [2021-2345, 2022-1039] (February 13, 2023) the Federal Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, vacated in part, and remanded the district court’s grant of summary judgment to DZEM on SSI’s infringement
claims, dismissal of DZEM’s invalidity counterclaims, and granted summary judgment to SSI on the tortious interference counterclaim.

SSI has asserted U.S. Patent Nos. 8,733,153 and 9,535,038, generally directed to sensors for determining the characteristics of fluid in a container, such as a fuel tank.against DZEM. this case.

The dispute in the district court regarding the ’153 patent turned mainly on the limitation in claim 1 that recites a controller configured to determine whether a contaminant exists in the
fluid based on the temperature of the fluid, a time period from when the sound wave is produced to when the echo is detected, and at least one of the group of a) whether a measured volume is out of range and b) a dilution of the fluid is detected while the measured volume of the fluid decreases. The district court construed the second item of the Markush group in that limitation, “a dilution of the fluid is detected while the measured volume of the fluid decreases,” to require that the contaminant determination actually consider the measured volume of the fluid. This construction was based upon the district court’s determination that amendments to the claim during prosecution was designed to incorporate the error-detection capability recited in the specification.

The Federal Circuit agreed with the district court, noting that the language “measured volume” in the claim requires that the volume of the liquid in the tank must be determined and considered as part of the contamination analysis recited in claim 1. The Court pointed out that a claim construction that gives meaning to all the terms of the claim is preferred over
one that does not do so. Thus the Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of non-infringement as to the ‘153 patent.

With respect to the ’038 patent, the dispute in the district court turned mainly on the district court’s construction of the term “filter” and its application of that construction in its infringement analysis. The district court adopted DZEM’s proposed construction of “filter,”
construing the term to mean “a porous structure defining openings, and configured to remove impurities larger than said openings from a liquid or gas passing through the
structure.” Since the DZEM device had a non-porous cover, the court found no infringement.

The Federal Circuit disagreed with the district court construction of filter. The Court said that the specification of the ’038 patent contains no requirement regarding the size of the filter openings. The Federal Circuit conceded that each embodiment disclosed in the ’038 patent contains a mesh filter, which has very small openings, but stated that the scope of a claim is not ordinarily limited to preferred embodiments or specific examples in the specification. The Court said that while the specific embodiments of the filters disclosed in the ’038 patent specification contain small holes, the general references to a “filter” in the specification are quite broad and do not reflect an intent to limit the term “filter” to the disclosed embodiments. In particular the reference to use of the mesh was limited to “some embodiments.” The Federal Circuit concluded that as long as the openings in the filter are small enough to prevent at least some gas bubbles from entering the sensing area, the openings need
not be smaller than any particular maximum size.

In light of this construction, the Federal Circuit vacated the grant of summary judgment of the ‘038 patent in its entirety, and remanded for further proceedings.

On the grant of summary judgment to SSI on DZEM’s tortious interference
counterclaim, the Federal Circuit said that in order to assert a claim “that a patent
holder has engaged in wrongful conduct by asserting claims of patent infringement,” the plaintiff “must establish that the claims of infringement were objectively baseless.” The Federal Circuit said that the district court held that SSI’s infringement claims were not objectively baseless, and that it discerned no error in that conclusion, pointing to SSI’s expert report regarding infringement as evidence that the suit was not objectively baseless. The Court said that the existence of an expert opinion can be evidence that a party’s position is not unreasonable, even if there is conflicting expert testimony in the record. DZEM was required to establish by clear and convincing evidence that SSI’s infringement suit was objectively baseless, but it failed to introduce any evidence of objective baselessness. Thus, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary
judgment to SSI on the tortious interference counterclaim.