Opinion ID: 757289
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Performance of the Steps of Claim 1 of the '483 Patent Sequentially

Text: 41 The text of claim 1 of the '483 patent is set forth below. 13 The district court determined that the plain language of claim 1 of the '483 patent demonstrates that the steps must be performed in order. See CleanOX, slip op. at 41. Mantech argues on appeal, however, as it did before the district court, that there is no language in the claim and no mandate elsewhere in the specification requiring performance of the steps of the claimed method in sequence. According to Mantech, the steps of claim 1 of the '483 patent could be performed in any order, or simultaneously. We disagree. Step (a) provides the wells. No monitoring or injecting of the groundwater can occur until wells are provided; hence, step (a) must be performed first. 14 Step (b) introduces acetic acid, via the wells provided in step (a), into the groundwater of the contaminated region. Hence, in order to accomplish step (b), the wells of step (a) must already have been provided. Step (c) introduces an aqueous solution of ferrous ion into said groundwater region for mixing with said acidified groundwater  (emphasis added). In order for the aqueous solution to mix with the acidified groundwater, the acid must have already mixed with the groundwater to form acidified groundwater. Hence step (b) necessarily comes before step (c). Step (d) introduces a treating flow of hydrogen peroxide solution into the groundwater. The hydrogen peroxide solution undergoes a Fenton-like reaction in the presence of said acidic conditions and said ferrous ion. Because the acidic conditions and the ferrous ion must be present before the hydrogen peroxide can undergo the Fenton-like reaction, step (d) must come after both steps (b) and (c). We hold, therefore, that the sequential nature of the claim steps is apparent from the plain meaning of the claim language and nothing in the written description suggests otherwise. 15 42 Mantech further asserts that dependent claim 4 of the '483 patent supports its argument that the steps of claim 1 need not be performed in sequence. 16 According to Mantech, claim 4 discloses introducing the treating flows separately, and separating them with flows of potable water. Relying on the doctrine of claim differentiation, Mantech asserts that because independent claim 1 must be broader than dependent claim 4, it must include a simultaneous introduction of the reagents. Mantech's argument is flawed, however, because the steps defined in claim 4 of injecting potable water into the groundwater alone distinguish the scope of claim 4 from that of claim 1 and thus make Mantech's argument based on claim differentiation unavailing. In any event, we hold that the plain meaning of claim 4 actually supports rather than refutes the sequentiality requirement of claim 1. Therefore, we uphold the district court's construction that the process steps as claimed in this patent must be performed sequentially. Because it appears on appeal that the accused system may not follow the same sequence of steps, it may not infringe the '483 patent even if it is found to infringe the '141 patent. But, once again, we cannot definitively resolve this issue on appeal given the absence of any record evidence on the sequence of steps in the accused system. Thus, we must remand on this issue as well.