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ARTICLE · 29 FEBRUARY 2024

"Inelegant" Language Does Not An Indefinite Claim Term Make

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To follow up on my February 6, 2024 post, Federal Circuit Judges Prost, Taranto, and Chen heard oral argument on February 9, 2024 in Maxell v. Amperex, No. 23-1194...

United StatesIntellectual Property
Chantelle Ankerman
Chantelle Ankerman

To follow up on my February 6, 2024 post, Federal Circuit Judges Prost, Taranto, and Chen heard oral argument on February 9, 2024 in Maxell v. Amperex, No. 23-1194, concerning a claim term that the District Court had found indefinite, rendering U.S. Patent No. 9,077,035 invalid. The District Court found the disputed term contradictory because the term's first part ("M1 represents at least one transition metal element selected from Co, Ni and Mn") renders cobalt ("Co") optional, whereas the second part ("wherein the content of Co in the transition metal M1 . . . is from 30% by mole to 100% by mole") requires cobalt. Maxell disagreed, arguing that it was clear that cobalt was required.

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