Opinion ID: 774976
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Infringement and Claim Construction

Text: 46 The district court's construction of claim 3 of the '233 patent does not require that the guidewire lumen pass through, or inside of, the balloon. Advanced Cardiovascular Sys., Inc. v. Medtronic, Inc., No. C-95-3577, slip op. at 26-28 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2000) (claim construction). Medtronic challenges this construction on appeal. Medtronic does not independently contest the finding of infringement. That is, if we agree with the district court's construction of claim 3 of the '233 patent, then Medtronic concedes infringement. Claim construction is a matter of law and is reviewed de novo on appeal. Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1456, 46 USPQ2d 1169, 1174 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (en banc). 47 As always, we begin our construction with the words of the claim. Interactive Gift Express, Inc. v. Compuserve Inc., 256 F.3d 1323, 1331, 59 USPQ2d 1401, 1406-07 (Fed. Cir. 2001). After looking to the claim language we consider the rest of the intrinsic evidence, that is, the written description and the prosecution history if in evidence. Id. Accordingly, we proceed first to examine the claim language. 48 The preamble informs us that the claim is for an elongated balloon dilatation catheter, also referred to in the preamble as a catheter. The preamble notes that the catheter can be exchanged over a guidewire, but the preamble does not restrict the claim to either a coaxial or a side-by-side design. 49 Parts a) through c) of the claim inform us that the catheter includes an elongated catheter shaft, also referred to as a catheter shaft, that includes two guidewire lumen openings. Parts b) and c) state that these openings are in the catheter shaft. Part d) informs us that the catheter includes a flexible distal shaft section, also referred to as a distal shaft section in parts e) and f). Part d) also reveals that the distal shaft section contains the guidewire lumen extending between the two guidewire lumen openings. From this it is clear that the distal shaft section is a part of the catheter shaft, as the names themselves suggest. Part e) further informs us that an inflatable dilatation balloon is on the distal shaft section. 50 In summary, the language of the claim does not restrict the guidewire lumen to being either coaxial or side-by-side with the balloon. Further, the claim makes sense with either configuration, requiring only that: (1) there be two guidewire lumen openings in the catheter shaft, per parts b) and c); and (2) the balloon be located on the catheter shaft, per part e). These conditions can be met with either the coaxial or the side-by-side design. Thus, the words of the claim do not contain a coaxial limitation. 51 Medtronic places heavy emphasis on the claim's use of the words in and on. The claim states that the guidewire openings are in the catheter shaft and that the balloon is on the catheter shaft. '233 patent, col. 12, ll. 51, 53, 65. Medtronic notes that the words in and on have different meanings and must be construed accordingly. So far, we are in agreement. However, Medtronic's opening brief alleges that in a side-by-side design, the guidewire lumen openings would be on the catheter and not in the catheter as the claim requires, thereby erasing the difference between 'in' and 'on' by making those terms interchangeable. Medtronic attempts to explain its logic, asserting that there would be no need for two openings 'in' the catheter if the structure between those openings was not inside the claimed balloon catheter. (Emphasis Medtronic's). 52 Medtronic's argument assumes that because the guidewire lumen openings are in the catheter, the guidewire lumen must not only go through the catheter but also go through the balloon. We disagree. As part d) states, the claim only requires that the guidewire lumen go through the catheter shaft, and this is consistent with the common understanding of there being openings in the catheter shaft as required in parts b) and c). Further, the claim's requirement that the balloon be on the catheter shaft can be met either by the balloon being wrapped around the catheter shaft, as in a coaxial design, or simply being in contact with part of the circumference of the catheter shaft, as in a side-by-side design. 53 Medtronic points to various parts of the written description as supporting Medtronic's position. However, the written description does not support Medtronic. The written description does not define any claim terms to require a coaxial limitation and does not restrict the claimed invention to coaxial designs. To the contrary, the written description explicitly states that [a]lthough the present invention has been described principally in conjunction with catheters having coaxial lumens, it should be appreciated that the invention is as applicable, if not more applicable, to catheters having side-by-side lumens. '233 patent, col. 11, ll. 28-32. 54 Medtronic next argues that the prosecution history compels the introduction of a coaxial limitation into claim 3 of the '233 patent. However, Medtronic argues exclusively from the prosecution history of the '273 and '548 patents-not the '233 patent. The prosecution history of a related patent can be relevant if, for example, it addresses a limitation in common with the patent in suit. Medtronic, Inc. v. Advanced Cardiovascular Sys., Inc., 248 F.3d 1303, 1315, 58 USPQ2d 1607, 1617 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Watts v. XL Sys., Inc., 232 F.3d 877, 884, 56 USPQ2d 1836, 1841 (Fed. Cir. 2000); Jonsson v. Stanley Works, 903 F.2d 812, 818, 14 USPQ2d 1863, 1869 (Fed. Cir. 1990); cf. Wang Labs., Inc. v. Am. Online, Inc., 197 F.3d 1377, 1383-84, 53 USPQ2d 1161, 1165-66 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (considering prosecution history of a parent application, in construing claims of a child application, when the specification of the child limited the claimed invention to the preferred embodiment and the subject matter of the parent was the same). Medtronic provides no plausible reason why the prosecution histories of either the '273 or '548 patents are relevant to the construction of claim 3 of the '233 patent. Notably, there are no common claim terms in dispute. Indeed, the present case involves the absence of a claim term. The patentee's whole point in filing the application that resulted in the '233 patent was to secure broader claims. As Medtronic admits in its opening brief, none of the '233 Patent claims explicitly state the guidewire tube runs inside a balloon catheter. 55 Accordingly, we construe claim 3 of the '233 patent to read on both side-by-side and coaxial designs. We find no basis to read into claim 3 any requirement that the balloon be coaxial with the guidewire lumen. Infringement under this claim construction is not contested by Medtronic.