Supreme Court Changes The Standard Of Review For Claim Construction Decisions

DC Client Alert

By Richard J. Oparil

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has long held that a District Court's construction of the meaning of claim terms in a patent is not entitled to any deference and would be reviewed on appeal using a de novo standard. The Supreme Court rejected those decisions on January 20 and held that the Federal Circuit "must apply a 'clear error,' not de novo, standard of review" to the factual underpinnings of a District Court's claim construction determination.