Claim Construction: Building Strong Patent Foundations

​​Patently Strategic - Patent Strategy for Startups

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Claim construction is a process in which courts attempt to interpret the meaning and scope of the claims of a patent. It’s like reconstructing what an inventor and their practitioner meant back when they drafted the patent application. While your patent might not be tested in a court for many years, understanding the sometimes surprising language specifics and context traps while drafting now can help set you up for success later when defending your patent or attempting to stop an infringer. The words you choose now and the support you provide when drafting are your opportunity to help derisk the process of courts and juries later interpreting what you meant. And oftentimes, claim construction can be the KEY FACTOR in resolving disputes even before litigation, with the facts that come out of claim construction deciding the monetary value and payouts in settlements.
Kristen Hansen, Patent Strategy Specialist at Aurora, leads the discussion along with our all-star patent panel, exploring:
⦿ The evolution of claim terms
⦿ Claim construction basics and a historical look at what are called Markman hearings
⦿ Intrinsic evidence vs. extrinsic evidence
⦿ Claim construction in prosecution vs. litigation
Kristen is also joined today by our always exceptional group of IP experts including:
⦿ Dr. Ashley Sloat, President and Director of Patent Strategy at Aurora
⦿ Dr. David Jackrel, President of Jackrel Consulting
⦿ Dr. David Cohen, Principal at Cohen Sciences
⦿ Steve Stupp, Partner at Stupp Associates, LLC
⦿ Ty Davis, Patent Strategy Associate at Aurora
⦿ Arman Khosraviani, Patent Agent and Former US Patent Examiner
** Mossoff Minute **
This month's Mossoff Minute, Professor Adam Mossoff discusses recently proposed regulations that would misapply Bayh-Dole provisions to impose march-in rights on patent-protected innovations and create price controls via compulsory licensing. This amounts to government seizure of private property and will do tremendous harm – especially to the life sciences – if implemented.
** Going Deeper **
⦿ Patent Claim Basics and Strategies
⦿ Patent Anatomy Guide
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Thanks for listening!
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Note: The contents of this podcast do not constitute legal advice.

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1. Intro (00:00:00)

2. Mossoff Minute: Drug Price Controls (00:04:44)

3. Why claim construction matters (00:07:26)

4. Claim drafting and evolution of claim terms (00:09:45)

5. What is claim construction? (00:12:53)

6. Direct vs indirect infringement (00:13:59)

7. Claim construction steps (00:17:59)

8. What claim construction provides (00:18:44)

9. When claim construction is decided and used (00:23:15)

10. Main determinant for assessing infringement (00:24:43)

11. Claim construction preliminaries (00:30:07)

12. Markman Hearings (00:34:05)

13. Claim construction evidence (00:38:37)

14. Example: "Vessel" (00:42:59)

15. Construction vs. interpretation (00:44:00)

16. Example: "substantially equal" (00:44:42)

17. Example: positional relationships (00:47:23)

18. Key takeways (00:55:40)

19. Outro (01:10:38)