In SIMO Holdings Inc., v. Hong Kong uCloudlink
Network Technology LTD, No. 19-2411 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 5,
2021), the Federal Circuit reversed a district court's
summary judgment order on infringement on claim construction
grounds.
SIMO's patented invention allows users to reduce roaming
charges on their phones when traveling abroad. Claim 8's
preamble described a variety of structures, including a
“non-local calls database.” SIMO agreed that part of
the preamble limits the claim but argued that the “non-local
calls database” phrase does not. The Federal Circuit
disagreed. It explained that even if the language is in the
preamble, a view the Court questioned, the language is still
limiting because it supplies the claim's structure. The Court
acknowledged that this construction excludes some embodiments but
explained that the claim's language outweighed the
specification's countervailing evidence. Since the accused
product did not include a non-local calls database, the
