Dictionary Definition Dispositive In Claim Construction Dispute

Starhome GmbH v. AT&T Mobility LLC

Addressing the use of technical dictionaries in claim construction, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's summary judgment of non-infringement, finding that the district court properly relied on technical dictionaries in its construction of a pivotal term.  Starhome GmbH v. AT&T Mobility LLC, Case No. 12-1694 (Fed. Cir., Feb. 24, 2014) (Schall, J.).

Starhome sued AT&T Mobility alleging infringement of a patent directed to a way of improving the functionality of phone services for users in a roaming network by allowing such users to make calls as if they were in their home networks.  The asserted claims require the use of an "intelligent gateway," a key term in dispute during claim construction.