The court construed claim terms from eight asserted Philips patents relating to light emitting diode (LED) technology, many of which had been through inter partes review proceedings. (As with most Markman decisions, I do not intend to get into the actual constructions so much as the legal bases for the constructions, as I believe this would be of the most interest to future litigants in this district.)
Most of the contested claim limitations were means-plus-function limitations, with the arguments being related to the means disclosed to perform agreed-upon functions. Judge Casper refused to limit the means to preferred embodiments that included structure that was not necessary to perform the recited function. Phrased another way, she refused to import additional limitations from an embodiment into the construction. Judge Casper refused to construe two term on which a construction had been sought by WAC, seemingly in contravention of many district court judges who view the Federal Circuit’s O2 Micro v. Beyond Innovation decision as compelling a construction whenever one is sought. Also of note, Judge Casper cited to case law from other districts holding that the PTAB’s constructions made in an inter partes review are persuasive authority, and she adopted constructions made by the PTAB throughout the order; she did not, however, refuse to construe terms that the PTAB had not construed, although it is unclear from the order whether construction of these terms was sought during the IPR.
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