Housey Pharmaceuticals, Inc. v. Astrazeneca UK Ltd. & Bristol-Myers Squibb & Merck, et al.(Fed. Cir. May 7, 2004).
In an infringement suit concerning Housey’s assay method patent, the Federal Circuit held that the definition of an “inhibitor or activator” included substances that both directly and indirectly affect a protein of interest. (U.S. Patent 5,688,655, et al.) The Court arrived at its decision based on the plain meaning of the terms (from dictionaries) and because the patent did not “clearly disavow this broad plain meaning.” Invalidity affirmed.
In dissent, Judge Newman argued that
My colleagues’ approach to construction is based on confusing recent pronouncements of panels of this court, contravening earlier statements of precedent, thus adding to the confusion. . . . It is curious indeed to announce a “heavy presumption” that the meaning of a term in a patent claim is unencumbered by the specification, and to place a “heavy burden” on overcoming that presumption. . . . The written description is not an also-ran in claim construction, as the panel states; it is the primary resource in understanding the claims.