Claim Construction

Claim construction is the process in which courts interpret the meaning and scope of a patent's claims. Since the claims "define the invention to which the patentee is entitled the right to exclude," construing the claims can be a critical step in determining the outcome of almost all patent litigations. In fact, the first step of any infringement or validity analysis is to determine the meaning of the claims (i.e., what the claims encompass and what they do not). Only after the boundaries of the claims have been determined can a judge or jury decide whether the allegedly infringing product or process falls within the scope of the patentee's claims, whether the claims are adequately described in the specification, or whether the claims are invalid in view of the prior art. From a practical standpoint, once the scope of the patentee's rights has been determined, the question of infringement can often be resolved without trial, often by agreement of the parties or on summary judgment.

This chapter begins by setting forth the general principles of the claim construction analysis. Once the basic rules for interpreting the meaning of the claims have been explained, this chapter addresses the timing and procedural aspects of the claim construction analysis. Mark J. Feldstein, Ph.D. discusses various strategic considerations the parties to an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) case should address once the claims have been construed.