Appeal No. 2006-1169
Application No. 10/005,728
second paragraph. But, as described, and claimed, the PENTIUM
product referred to may be any one of many products, e.g.,
PENTIUM II chip, PENTIUM III chip, etc. Each version of the
product is at least slightly different than another version of
the product, with different instruction sets. If a patent on a
claim containing merely the term “PENTIUM” were to issue, the
question arises as to how would one know what infringes that
particular patent. Would the use of any PENTIUM product
infringe? It might, and there is nothing intrinsically wrong
with claiming an invention broadly. Breadth should not be
confused with indefiniteness. But since Intel generates
different versions of PENTIUM products, if the claims covered all
the PENTIUM chips and their instruction sets in use and known up
until the time of the instant invention, that would be one thing.
But, when Intel attaches the PENTIUM name to future products, as
they very well may since it is a very valuable trademark, how
will the artisan know what the claimed term PENTIUM is to cover?
Is a claim meant to cover all future developments which may not
even be contemplated at the time of the patent application?
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