Opinion ID: 4150049
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Disclaimer Based on Sheets

Text: Technology Properties argues the district court erred by limiting an “entire oscillator” to one “that does not require a control signal.” We hold that the term is properly construed as one “that does not require a command input to change the clock frequency.” The district court erred by holding that the patentee disclaimed any use of a command signal by the entire oscillator. Instead, the patentee disclaimed a particular use of a command signal—using a command signal to change the clock frequency. The patentee argued during prosecution that Sheets was distinguishable from the ’336 patent claims because Sheets requires “a command input . . . to change the clock speed.” J.A. 2127. It de16 TECH. PROPS. LTD. v. HUAWEI TECHS. CO., LTD. scribed Sheets’ system “for providing clock control signals to an external clock” as “unrelated” to the claimed invention. J.A. 2117. Conversely, it stated that in the ’336 patent, “[n]o command input is necessary to change the clock frequency.” J.A. 2127. It argued its claims did not “rely upon [the] provision of frequency control information to an external clock” taught in Sheets because all claimed components were located on the same substrate. J.A. 2117. By placing all components on the same substrate, it “obviate[d]” the need for “the type of frequency control information described by Sheets.” Id. None of these statements disclaim an entire oscillator receiving a command input for any purpose. Every time the patentee mentioned a “control signal” or “command input,” it did so only in the context of using a command input to modify the frequency of the CPU clock. This understanding is consistent with the patentee’s characterization of the benefits of its invention. It argued that by placing the CPU and CPU clock on the same silicon substrate, the frequencies of both “automatically vary together.” J.A. 2094. This eliminates the need for a command input to change clock frequency. As the patentee explained, “the oscillator or variable speed clock varies in frequency but does not require manual or programmed inputs or external or extra components to do so.” Id. We hold that an “entire oscillator” is one “that does not require a command input to change the clock frequency.”