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Phillips v. AWH Corp.: Interpretation of Patent Claims.

Article Excerpt
On July 12, 2005, in an en banc opinion in Phillips v. AWH Corporation, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit clarified the procedure for interpreting patent claims. As a result, the patent specification, rather than dictionaries, is to be the primary tool for interpreting patent claims.

Background on Phillips

Edward H. Phillips invented and patented modular, steel-shell panels that can be welded together to form vandalism-resistant walls of particular use in prisons. In the patent, Mr. Phillips claimed the use of "steel baffles" within the walls to provide impact or projectile resistance. Below are exemplary drawings from the patent at issue:

In 1997, Mr. Phillips brought an infringement suit against AWH Corp. The district court construed the patent's claims to require that the baffles must "extend inward from the steel shell walls at an oblique or acute angle to the wall face." The district court granted AWH's motion for summary judgment of non-infringement because the defendant's accused walls contained internal baffles oriented at 90- angles from the steel shell...

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