Interference No. 105,113
introduce one or more gases into the thermal anneal chamber," that recitation does not require
that the chamber be sealed or have a top.
[W]e next look to the specification to determine "whether the presumption of
ordinary and customary meaning is rebutted." Tex. Digital, 308 F.3d at 1204; see
also Inverness Med. Switz. GmbH v. Princeton Biomeditech Corp., 309 F.3d
1365, 1371-72 [64 USPQ2d 1926] (Fed. Cir. 2002). The patentee may have acted
as his own lexicographer and imbued the claim terms with a particular meaning or
"disavowed or disclaimed scope of coverage, by using words or expressions of
manifest exclusion or restriction." Tex. Digital, 308 F.3d at 1204.
E-Pass, 343 F.3d at 1368, 67 USPQ2d at 1950. See also In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 1054,
44 USPQ2d 1023, 1027 (Fed. Cir. 1997): "[T]he PTO applies to the verbiage of the proposed
claims the broadest reasonable meaning of the words in their ordinary usage as they would be
understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, taking into account whatever enlightenment by way
of definitions or otherwise that may be afforded by the written description contained in the
applicant's specification."). Ritzdorf's specification does not include a definition for "chamber"
or “anneal” or otherwise signal an intention to give these terms meanings other than their
ordinary meanings.11
As authority for considering Dr. Geffken's testimony about the meanings of these terms,
Cheung argues:
In construing claim terms, it is also appropriate to consider how one
skilled in the art would understand the terms. As the Federal Circuit put it in
Eastman Kodak Co. v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., 114 F.3d 1547, 1555,
42 USPQ2d 1737, 1742 (Fed. Cir. 1997)[,] "As a general rule, the construing
11 "Anneal" as used in the specification is broad enough to include self-annealing at room
temperature ('613 specification at 17, ll. 18-22) as well as annealing at higher temperatures, e.g.,
"temperatures of about 250 degrees Celsius and below" (id. at 18, ll. 12-13).
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