Patent Claim Terms Are Literally Interpreted

Alexsam, Inc. v. IDT Corporation

Addressing the issue of patent infringement, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held that, if a claim states that a point-of-sale device is "unmodified," a party alleging infringement must prove that the point-of-sale device is actually unmodified, not simply that no modification is required. Addressing the issue of patent validity, the Federal Circuit held that in complex cases, a party alleging patent invalidity based on obviousness over a combination of references must present evidence (e.g., expert testimony) that a skilled artisan would be motivated to combine the references. Alexsam, Inc. v. IDT Corporation, Case No. 12-1063 (Fed. Cir., May 20, 2013) (Dyk, J.) (Mayer, J., dissenting).