CAFC Reverses PTAB for Failing to Expressly Define Claim Term

In Homeland Housewares v. Whirlpool, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) rendered an opinion, in which CAFC reversed a decision by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the US Patent & Trademark Office, because of its failure to construe the claimed term of “predetermined settling speed.” The CAFC noted: “In some cases, the ordinary meaning of claim language may be readily apparent and claim construction will involve little more than the application of the widely accepted meaning of commonly understood words.” However, “[c]laims must also be read in view of the specification, of which they are a part…

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