Opinion ID: 807210
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: “fully around”

Text: On appeal, Carsem argues for the first time that “fully around” means “that the lip is present on every exposed side edge of the die pad where a connector of some type is not present.” Intervenor’s Br. 53. Before the ALJ, Carsem argued that the ’277 Patent claim limitations requiring a lip to run “fully around a circumference of the die pad” (claims 2-4) and “fully around the die pad” (claims 21-23) were indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112. First ID at 49. [JA22101] Carsem argued below that “if these words are read literally, ‘fully around a circumference’ . . . incorporates those portions of the die pad where it is connected to the lead frame by a tie bar, fused lead, or other structure, which is not physically possible and therefore renders the claim indefinite.” Id. On review before the Commission, Carsem argued that that the claim limitation “fully around” requires that a lip “essentially cut through the tie bar thus leaving the claimed invention inoperable.” Claim Construction Remand at 16. Amkor, not Carsem, argued that the limitation “fully around” should be “satisfied even where features other than the tie bars (e.g., the fused leads) may interrupt the lip on the die pad.” Id. Before the ALJ and the Commission, Carsem argued against Amkor’s proposed construction, and urged a construction requiring the lip to “essentially cut through the tie bar thus leaving the 18 AMKOR TECH v. ITC claimed invention inoperable.” Id.; First ID at 49, 51. Carsem switches positions on appeal, now arguing in support of the position it opposed below. Carsem waived its new claim construction argument by failing to raise it below. See Conoco Inc. v. Energy & Envtl. Int’l, L.C., 460 F.3d 1349, 1358-59 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (“[A] party may not introduce new claim construction arguments on appeal or alter the scope of the claim construction positions it took below.”). Even if Carsem had preserved the argument, the Commission properly construed the claims, as both parties’ experts agreed that one of skill in the art would read the claim terms to mean that the lip “goes fully around the die pad except at those regions where the tie bars contact.” Commission Op. at 14 (citing the testimony of Dr. Patrick McCluskey (“McCluskey”), Trial Tr. 1418:2224, July 14, 2004 (“[Y]ou can see that [the lip around the die pad] goes fully around the die pad except at those regions where the tie bars contact.”), and Dr. Gerald K. Fehr, Trial Tr. 3656:7-17, July 23, 2004 (“[A] person of ordinary skill would understand the phrases . . . as used in the claims to refer to the exposed side edges of the die pad and not to include the portions of the die pad where the die pad and tie bars are integrally connected.”)). “While claim construction primarily relies on intrinsic evidence, extrinsic evidence, such as expert testimony, may also be used when given the appropriate weight by the trial court.” Spansion Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 629 F.3d 1331, 1344-45 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (“Experts for both Tessera and Appellants testified that one of ordinary skill in the art would have been able to determine the boundaries of the claims. . . . This court does not find persuasive Appellants’ arguments that the ALJ misinterpreted the expert testimony.”). The Commission did not err in concluding that “no features (other than tie bars) may interrupt the lip on the die pad,” Claim Construction Remand at 16, because the ’277 Patent only discloses tie AMKOR TECH v. ITC 19 bar connectors, not fused leads, and no expert testimony establishes that one of skill in the art would read the ’277 Patent to contemplate the possibility of fused leads. Accordingly, the court affirms the Commission’s claim construction as to these terms.