<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nThere was a recent case in the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, In Re: Smith Int\u2019l, Inc.<\/em> Appeal 2016-2303 (Fed. Cir., Sept. 16, 2017), wherein the term \u201cbody\u201d used in an application for a mechanical device patent was in question. In the patent application, several claims were directed to a mechanical assembly, having one element, \u201cbody.\u201d It was found in the patent specification, but unfortunately, the applicant did not explain it in a limiting way. As the understanding goes, \u201cbody\u201d is an open-ended term and may be subject to many interpretations in the patent specification. So, while reexamining, the Patent Appeal Board determined that the term is generic, and the patent specification did not identify the structural specificity. As a result, the claims were disallowed.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOn further appeal, the court reversed and noted that even though the patent specification and claims failed to elaborate its precise meaning, the term was not used generically in the patent specification, opposing the Patent Appeal Board’s conclusion. The court further noted that the term was described distinctly from other elements of the invention, suggesting that it had some uniqueness in its meaning \u2013 based on the figures in the application. The court said that under the broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI), the interpretation must conform to the described use. Here, the applicant had not acted as a lexicographer relative to \u201cbody,\u201d but that reasoning alone was insufficient to read the term overly broad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Understanding Reasonable Interpretation<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nLet us consider a case with a simple and reasonable explanation. If an Indian inventor innovates a process that executes at 34 degrees Celsius, the patent drafter might refer to this as \u201ca process being carried out at a standard room temperature.\u201d This is because the Indian standard room temperature is 34 degrees Celsius. But in other parts of the world, the standard room temperature might be a bit warmer or colder. Therefore, the \u201cstandard room temperature\u201d is non-universal and does not have standard acceptability across all countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thus, in situations where the meaning can vary or have ambiguity, the best practice is to define the exact meaning of that particular element. Therefore, an ideal way of describing this will be, \u201cthe process may be carried out between 28 degrees Celsius to 34 degrees Celsius, which is sometimes referred to as a standard room temperature in the description.\u201d This can provide a clear understanding to the examiner of the operating conditions of the process and will not be subject to any unreasonable interpretation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n