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Claim construction

Definition

The legal process of interpreting what a patent claimclaimA numbered sentence at the end of a patent that legally defines what the inventor owns. The most important section.Read more → means — specifically, the scope of each term in the claim. In litigationlitigationA lawsuit over patent infringement. Litigated patents often signal commercial importance.Read more →, judges perform claim constructionclaim constructionThe legal process of interpreting what a patent claim means — usually decided by the judge in a Markman hearing.Read more → in a "Markman hearing" before deciding infringementinfringementMaking, using, selling, or importing a patented invention without permission from the patent holder.Read more →. Claim construction is often the most consequential step in patent litigation: a narrow construction can defeat infringement, while a broad one can invalidate the claim.

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Related terms

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Claim

The numbered sentences at the end of a patent that define exactly what is legally protected. Claims are the only part of a patent that determine infringement — if a product or process doesn't fall within the scope of at least one claim, there is no infringement. Every other part of a patent (abstract, drawings, specification) exists to support and illuminate the claims.

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Claim differentiation

A canon of claim construction: different claims are presumed to have different scope, so a limitation spelled out in a dependent claim is presumed to be absent from the broader independent claim it depends on. It is used to argue an independent claim should be read broadly.

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Infringement

The unauthorized making, using, selling, or importing of a product or process that falls within the scope of a valid patent's claims. Infringement is determined by comparing each element of a patent claim to the accused product or process. If every element is present — literally or under the doctrine of equivalents — infringement exists.

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Markman hearing

A pretrial hearing where the judge decides what the disputed terms of a patent claim mean, as a matter of law. Named after Markman v. Westview Instruments, this claim-construction step often decides the whole case because it sets the yardstick for infringement and validity.

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Patent

A government-granted right that gives an inventor the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using, selling, or importing a patented invention within the country that granted the patent, for a limited time. A patent does not give the owner the right to practice the invention — only the right to exclude others. The US issues three types: utility, design, and plant patents.

Conception

The mental part of invention: forming a definite and permanent idea of the complete invention in enough detail that a skilled person could build it. Conception, paired with reduction to practice, determines who legally counts as an inventor.

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