Opinion ID: 778740
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Application of the Best Mode Requirement

Text: 90 We begin our application of the best mode requirement with the language of the claim. Claim 1 of the '182 patent recites: 91 a clip (28) manually insertable into and manually removable from said locked position mechanically interlocking said core element sections together while moving axially within said guide lengths,... said clip (28) being disposed about said female member (24) and extending through said slot (32) and into said male groove (30) for mechanically interlocking said core element sections together in said locked position. 92 '182 Patent, col. 3, ll. 45-66, col. 4, ll. 1-10. The claims do not mention any particular material, hardness, or material matching for the clip. The claims do not mention any particular thickness for the clip. Thus, the information alleged to be part of the best mode and alleged to be missing from the disclosure is unclaimed subject matter. 93 Here, the relationship between the alleged missing information and the claimed invention does not implicate the best mode requirement. The inventor stated that the particular hardness-matching and thickness of the clip was not necessary for operability of the invention of the '182 patent, but instead was dictated by the size and axial force specifications of General Motors. Nothing in the record refers to axial forces, except for a statement in a parent application, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,415, and even there, axial forces are not discussed in the context of the thickness or material of the clip. This reference does not indicate that the thickness or material information is best mode information with respect to the claimed invention of the '182 patent. 94 The inventor testified that the clip thickness and hardness matching of the materials were not necessary to carry out the invention, but instead were dictated by customer requirements: 95 Q: So as you understand it, Mr. Reasoner, the design of a serviceable core element connect set forth in the '182 patent can work with clips of a variety of thicknesses? 96 [objection] 97 A: To answer your question, definitely yes. You can, if the General Motors requirement, when it came back and said, Mike, design it to 50 pound installation efforts, I could use everything standard and made an assembly a lot cheaper for Teleflex. 98