Opinion ID: 210374
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The District Court's Detailed Claim Construction

Text: Calmar argues that the district court erred by construing the claims of the patents-in-suit too narrowly, improperly focusing on and describing in minute detail the ornamental features of Calmar's patent rather than simply describing in words what is shown in their drawings. Based on the allegedly too narrow claim construction, the district court, according to Calmar, then improperly engaged in a side-by-side, element-by-element comparison of the minute details of and differences between the patented designs and the AA Shroud. Appellant's Br. at 67. The district court in this case performed the requisite task of claim construction by describing each of the drawings of Figures 1 through 5 in each of the two Calmar patents-in-suit. In doing so, the district court was careful to point out that the patented design did not include the nozzle, trigger, or closure cap. The district court also carefully noted that, to overcome the PTO's earlier rejection of the '581 patent application as not patentably distinct from the preceding Calmar '602 patent and to obtain the PTO's issuance of the '581 patent on July 29, 1997, Calmar filed a terminal disclaimer under 37 C.F.R. § 1.321(b). Calmar's disagreement with the district court's claim construction is essentially that it was too detailed. Our case law does not prohibit detailed claim construction of design patent drawings. It merely disapproves claim construction that goes beyond the novel, nonfunctional ornamental features visually represented by the claimed drawings, Elmer, 67 F.3d at 1577, or that fails to encompass the claimed ornamental features of the design as a whole. Amini Innovation Corp. v. Anthony California, Inc., 439 F.3d 1365, 1371 (Fed.Cir.2006). The district court's meticulous and accurate description of Figures 1 through 5 of each of Calmar's patents-in-suit did not constitute error. The district court's claim analysis demonstrated the proper consideration of the claimed designs as a whole.