Court Opinion

ID: 9494352
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 15:36:05.143175+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:56:22.121806
License: Public Domain

MAYER, Chief Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. In this case, “or” should be construed inclusively to mean “one or another or both.” First, the plain meaning of “or” can be “either or both.” If a store owner says, “If it hails or snows today, we will close the store,” then the owner will still close the store if it happens to hail and snow. Moreover, because we are required to refer to the detailed flowcharts in the '246 patent specification to interpret “or” in two of the claims in suit under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 6, it is appropriate for us to adopt the technical Boolean defi*1334nition of the term to determine its meaning to one of ordinary skill in the art. The structure and acts detailed in the specification flowcharts are consistent with this construction. Regardless of whether the operator selects the fastest or strongest mode, both the strongest and the fastest signals are always “searched” (as the district court construed the term). The signals are saved in the indexed array, and duplicated, with one set sorted by decreasing magnitude (finding the “strongest” signal) and the other sorted by decreasing frequency (finding the “fastest” signal). The prosecution history does not limit this construction. Kustom’s addition of the “or” limitation did not distinguish the invention over the Muni Quip MDR-1 radar device because that device also had the capacity to track the strongest or fastest signal. For these reasons, I would further interpret “criteria” as “standards used to search for a fastest or strongest target.” I would remand for a determination of disputed issues of material fact as to the operation of the accused device under the above claim construction. A device may be an improvement over prior art, and at the same time infringe.