Federal Circuit Rejects ´Expandio Ad Absurdum´ in Claim Construction

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has rejected a claim construction that was arguably correct on a term-by-term basis, but failed "to implement the invention described in the specification." On Demand Machine Corp. v. Ingram Industries, Inc., Case Nos. 05-1074, -1075, -1100 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 31, 2006) (Newman, J.).

On Demand Machine Corporation (ODMC) owns the Ross patent, for a "System and Method of Manufacturing a Single Book Copy," which envisions that a consumer will browse an electronic database that includes promotional material regarding various books, select a book for purchase and then have one copy of the book printed and bound for him or her, preferably at the same site.