Opinion ID: 614122
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Claim Construction of the Feedback Information Limitation in the Feedback Patents

Text: Cordance argues that the district court erred by construing the feedback information limitation of the Feedback Patents to mean evaluation attributes and corresponding value choices. Claim Construction Order at 317. According to Cordance, the proper construction of feedback information is information that includes an evaluative review and may also include information related to the review such as its subject or the evaluator. Cordance contends that the court's construction improperly reads a limitation into the claims that the feedback information must be in the format of attributes and value choices. Cordance also argues that feedback information should include information other than feedback data, such as a unique identification number corresponding to the item about which feedback is being provided. Amazon responds that the district court's construction was correct. According to Amazon, the specification describes the use of an input form to collect feedback information that consists of the category attribute and value choices. Amazon notes that every embodiment in the specification uses evaluation attributes that are predefined and the feedback provider simply selects from the value choices available for each predefined attribute. Amazon contends that the specification never uses the phrase feedback information, but instead uses the synonymous term feedback data and describes no basis for distinguishing the terms. This court agrees with Amazon that the district court did not err in construing feedback information. The patent covers a system of collecting feedback information, aggregating feedback information, and disseminating statistical reports. The aggregation and reporting of feedback information, as described in the specification, was based upon the use of fixed, predefined attributes with corresponding fixed, predefined value choices. See, e.g., '717 Patent, col. 125 ll. 56-62 (The appropriate value choices for each of these attributes would be displayed as drop-down lists, radio buttons, and so on.). Furthermore, Cordance's attempt to expand the definition of feedback information by equating it with the message object, of which feedback data is a subset, is equally unavailing. A message object is defined as a generic structure for communicating between providers and consumers. '717 Patent, col. 42 ll. 54-61. The portion of the specification cited by Cordance makes clear that feedback information does not refer to the message object, but instead to the narrower term feedback data. See, e.g., id. col.125 l. 67-col. 126 l. 3 (Next, the data exchange method 141 creates a message object 110 containing the feedback data from the input form and the UID of the target communications object 110.). In light of the disclosure that feedback information consists of attributes and values, and the lack of support for Cordance's construction, the district court cannot be said to have erred in its construction of feedback information.