CONTINENTAL CIRCUITS LLC v. INTEL CORPORATION
- Feb 8 2019 |
- Category: CAFC Updates
Continental Circuits appeals from the judgment of the District Court of non-infringement of certain claims of U.S. Patents 7,501,582; 8,278,560; 8,581,105; and 9,374,912 directed to multilayer electrical devices having a tooth structure and methods for making them. The parties stipulated to a judgment of non-infringement based on the district court’s claim construction of certain claim terms. Because the CAFC concludes that the district court erred in its claim construction by reading a “repeated desmear process” limitation into the claims in the absence of “clear and unmistakable” language that meets the “exacting” standard, required to limit the scope of the claims to a repeated desmear process. In addition, because it was not “made clear” by arguments the patentee presented during prosecution of the patents that the repeated desmear process is “an essential part of the claimed invention,” it was improper for the district court to read this process limitation into the product claims. Accordingly, the CAFC vacates the judgment of non-infringement and remands for further proceedings.