Words Matter: 'Said' Or 'The' In Claim Refers Back To Initial Phrase, Even If Multiple Elements

In Infernal Technology, LLC v. Activision Blizzard Inc.,¹ the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reaffirmed the long-standing principle that in grammatical terms, use of "said" or "the" in a claim are anaphoric phrases, referring to the initial antecedent phrase, even when the initial phrase refers to one or more elements.

Infernal Technology, LLC, sued Activision Blizzard Inc. for infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,362,822 ('822 patent) and 7,061,488 ('488 patent), accusing 19 Activision video games (Accused Games) of infringement. Both patents, titled "Lighting and Shadowing Methods and Arrangements for Use in Computer Graphic Simulations," were directed to methods of enhancing how light and shadow are presented in computer graphics.² Claim 1 of the '822 patent recited the following: