Appeal No. 1998-3062
Application 08/425,319
argues that claim 11 recites "a method of segmenting
characters in an electronic image of text containing pixels,
comprising the steps of:
a. selecting at least a portion of said image;
b. determining within said portion, a field of
induction at a variety of points; and
c. determining character boundaries using values of
said field of induction."
As pointed out by our reviewing court, we must first
determine the scope of the claim. "[T]he name of the game is
the claim." In re Hiniker Co., 150 F.3d 1362, 1369, 47 USPQ2d
1523, 1529 (Fed Cir. 1998). Moreover, when interpreting a
claim, words of the claim are generally given their ordinary
and accustomed meaning, unless it appears from the
specification or the file history that they were used
differently by the inventor. Carroll Touch, Inc. v. Electro
Mechanical Sys., Inc. 15 F.3d 1573, 1577, 27 USPQ2d 1836,
1840. Although an inventor is indeed free to define the
specific terms used to describe his or her invention, this
must be done with reasonable clarity, deliberateness, and
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