Court Opinion

ID: 9497951
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:04:20.185932+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:58:30.375347
License: Public Domain

ARCHER, Senior Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
Because the majority exalts form over substance in reaching its conclusion, specifically elevating claiming conventions over the clear teachings of the specification of U.S. Patent No. 6,212,777 (“the.’777 patent”), I dissent.
I
In construing a claim, we first look to the words of the claims, and these words are generally given their ordinary and customary meaning. See Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic, Inc., 90 F.3d 1576, 1582 (Fed.Cir.1996). Our search for the proper meaning of claim terms does not stop there, however, because a patentee may choose to “use terms in a manner other than their ordinary meaning.” Id. Such a redefinition or limitation of a claim term need not be explicit. “In other words, the specification may define claim terms ‘by implication’ such that the meaning may be ‘found in or ascertained by a reading of the patent documents.’” Bell Atl. Network Servs., Inc. v. Covad Communications Group, Inc., 262 F.3d 1258, 1268 (Fed.Cir.2001) (quoting Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1582); see Astrazeneca v. Mutual Pharm. Co., Inc., 384 F.3d 1333, 1340 (Fed.Cir.2004) (explaining that a patent applicant need not expressly state “my invention does not include X” to indicate his exclusion of X from the scope of his patent). Thus, “the specification is always highly relevant to the claim construction analysis. Usually, it is dispositive; it is the single best guide to the meaning of a disputed term.” Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1582 (emphasis added). The majority eschews this teaching in our case law, instead focusing primarily on the ordinary and customary meaning of the claim terms.
The construction of claim 1 of the ’777 patent hinges on how the terms “comprising” and “group of’ are construed. The majority follows claiming conventions and ascribes an open meaning to these terms. In doing this, the majority ignores the overwhelming teaching of the specification that the invention of the ’777 patent is a razor limited to three blades arranged in the described claim configuration.1
*1376Claim 1 reads “comprising a guard, a cap, and a group of first, second, and third blades”; it does not read “a group of blades comprising first, second, and third blades.” In this claim, the transition term “comprising” refers only to the total number of elements in the complete razor, allowing for a razor with additional elements besides the guard, the cap, and the three blade unit. See Spectrum Int’l, Inc. v. Sterilite Corp., 164 F.3d 1372, 1379 (Fed.Cir.1998); Moleculon Research Corp. v. CBS. Inc., 793 F.2d 1261, 1271 (Fed.Cir.1986) (holding that a step which recites engaging “eight cube pieces as a composite cube” does not read on a step which engages more than eight cube pieces, despite the use of the transitional term “comprising”). For example, claim 1 could include a safety razor with an additional guard or cap or some other element altogether. Because the transition term “ ‘Comprising’ is not a weasel word with which to abrogate claim limitations,” Spectrum Int’l, 164 F.3d at 1379-80, or to impermis-sibly expand a claim’s scope, claim 1 should not be construed as permitting a group with more than three blades simply because claim 1 contains the open transition term “comprising” in its preamble when the entire specification points to the invention as being only a three-bladed razor with progressive blade exposure and span.
The dependent claims themselves demonstrate that the blade unit of the invention contains only three blades — including a single second blade. Specifically, whenever the second blade is referred to individually, it is referred to singularly (“the edge of the second blade,” claim 6, 11. 2-3, claim 7, line 2; “the exposure of the second blade,” claim 10, line 2). Similarly, the dependent claims’ use of the term “span” (singular) whenever the distance between the first and second blades and second and third blades is mentioned evidences that there can only be a single second blade: “a span between the edges of the first and second blades,” claim 5, line 2 (emphasis added); “a span between the edge of the third blade and the edge of the second blade,” claim 6, 11. 2-3 (emphasis added); “a span between the edge of the second blade and the edge of the first blade,” claim 7, 11. 2-3 (emphasis added); “a span between the edges of the first and second blades and between the edges of the second and third blades,” claim 8,11. 2-3 (emphasis added); and '“the span between edges of the second and third blades,” claim 9, line 2 (emphasis added). A blade unit including more than one second blade would contain “spans” (plural) between “the second blade” and the first or third blade — one between the first or third blade and the first second blade and one between that same first or third blade and the second blade. There simply could not be a single span between a first or third blade and two second blades. The majority states that the use of “a span” for describing the distance between the edges of the first and second blades and that between the edges of the' second and third blades suggests that there can be more than one span for each. In other words, there can be a first span between the edge of the first blade and the edge of the first second blade and a second span between the edge of the first blade and the edge of the second second blade. Such an interpretation of “a span” is not consistent with the remainder of the claim language, however. Claims 5 and 8 state that this span is “substantially equal to 1.5 mm.” In a razor having two second blades as proposed by the majority, the first and second blades would have to be virtually in the same spot to satisfy this claim language (a configuration the majority does not even *1377claim the specification supports), as the edge of each second blade would' have to be substantially 1.5 mm from the edge of the first blade.2 Thus, there can only be a single span between the edge of the first blade and the edge of the second blade and a single span between the edge-of the third blade and the edge of the second blade. The majority’s claim construction effectively replaces “span” with “spans”; this is not what is claimed.
The specification similarly limits the invention to a blade unit having only three blades. The written description begins with an explanation of how two-bladed safety razors have dominated the wet shaving industry. “Safety razors having blade units with two blades have in recent years been sold in very large numbers and are generally acknowledged to give a better quality shave, especially in terms of closeness, than single bladed razors.” ’777 patent, col. 1, 11. 34-37. The specification then explains that a blade unit with more than two blades can provide a closer shave but notes that such a multi-bladed razor is not desirable for other reasons:
Closeness of a shave obtained is only one parameter by which razor users judge the performance of a razor. Adding extra blades can have a serious detrimental influence on other blade unit characteristics, most notably the drag forces experienced when the blade unit is moved over the skin, with the consequence that the overall performance of the blade unit can be markedly inferior despite a closer shave being obtainable.
Id. at col. 1, 11. 24-29. The specification then discloses that the inventors have discovered a particular blade geometry for a three-bladed razor so. as to overcome the traditional shortcomings of razors having more than two blades. Specifically, the inventors found that adding a third blade positioned between the other two blades in a particular configuration improved closeness while adding only minimal drag:
It has been -found that with a blade unit comprising three blades, the frictional drag forces-can be kept at an acceptable level while allowing an improved shaving efficiency, by setting the blades relative to each other and to guard and cap surfaces positioned in front of and behind the blade edges, according to a particular geometrical disposition.
Id. at col. 1, 11. 32-37. As such, with the exception of the three-bladed razor having the claimed geometry, the specification actually discourages, or teaches away from, razors that have more than two blades. In this regard, the specification expressly cautions that “[ajdding extra blades [more than two] can have a serious detrimental influence on ... blade unit characteristics.” Id. at col. 1, 11. 25-27. The general summary or description of the invention thus describes a three-bladed razor with a certain blade configuration and criticizes other blade units having more than two blades.
We have construed claims to be limited to one type of device where the written description has emphasized features of that device and criticized other similar devices. See Astrazeneca, 384 F.3d at 1340 (citing SciMed Life Sys., Inc. v. Advanced Cardiovascular Sys., Inc., 242 F.3d 1337, 1340-45 (Fed.Cir.2001) (construing claims to be limited to catheters with coaxial lu-mens where written' description emphasized coaxial lumens as a feature of the invention and criticized catheters using other types of lumens)). Here, the inventors expressly state that using more than two blades in a safety razor is problematic. ’777 patent, col. 1, 11. 24-31. They then *1378explain that these problems are overcome by a three-bladed razor having blades arranged with progressive blade spans and blade exposures. Id. at col. 1, 11. 32-37. This discussion, which expressly emphasizes certain features of the invention (a three-blade unit with the blades arranged in the described geometry) and impliedly criticizes other similar devices (blade units having more than two blades not having the same features), suggests the claims should be narrowly construed.
In my view, therefore, the term “comprising” should not be read as encompassing a blade unit having more than three blades. This is made clear by the claims themselves and by the written description as described below. The traditional open claiming term “comprising” thus applies to the limitations of the razor as a whole, that is, the cap, the guard, and the blade unit and permits other elements included in the razor. However, it does not permit the expansion of the number of blades in the blade unit itself.
Turning to the term “group of,” the written description makes clear that this term is not used as an open claiming term as Gillette argues. The term “group of’ occurs only once in the written description when the patentee is describing the invention as a whole in the background section of the patent. The group is specifically described as three blades:
Thus, in accordance with the present invention there is provided a safety razor blade unit comprising a guard, a cap and a group of three blades with parallel sharpened edges located between the guard and cap, the first blade defining the edge nearest the guard having an exposure not greater than zero, and the third blade defining the blade nearest the cap having an exposure not less than zero.
’777 patent, col. 1,11. 37-44 (emphasis added).
.. While not referring again to the “group of’ blades, the patentee consistently and frequently refers to his invention as a three-bladed safety razor.3 For example, when the written description speaks of the “blade unit” of the invention,4 the only type of blade unit identified is one having three blades: “blade unit comprising ... a group of three blades,” ’777 patent, col. 1, 11. 39-40; “three-bladed blade unit,” id. at col. 1, line 54; “three bladed safety razor blade unit,” id. at col. 2, line 50; and “three blades set in the blade unit,” id. at col. 3,11.17-18. When explaining the basic structure of the invention, the specification discloses “the novel aspects of the present invention resid[e] in the provision of three blades set in the blade unit set in particular dispositions with respect to each other and the guard and cap.” (Id. at col. 3, 11. 16-19) (emphasis added). By stating that the unit (group) of three blades (disposed in the described manner) confers novelty to the invention disclosed in the ’777 patent, the patentee clearly shows that he regards the invention to be a safety razor with a blade unit having exactly three *1379blades with progressive exposure and span.
The majority contends that a three-bladed razor is merely a preferred embodiment of the invention of the ’777 patent, as opposed to the invention. However, the specification is replete with instances where the patentee described the invention as a razor having three blades with the described blade geometry. To this end, the specification states “[w]ith a three-bladed safety razor blade unit having the blades disposed as specified herein we have found an enhanced overall shaving performance in comparison to a two-bladed razor,” (id. at col. 2, 11. 50-53) (emphasis added) (located immediately prior to the patentee’s statement that “some specific embodiments of the invention are described below”); “it is ensured that an enhanced shaving efficiency is secured due to there being three sharpened blades,” (id. at col. 4,11. 2-3) (emphasis added) (the final sentence of the written description which explains that “[w]ith the embodiments of the invention” this result is reached); “in accordance with the present invention there is provided a safety razor blade unit comprising a guard, a cap and a group of three blades,” id. at col. 1, 11. 37-40 (emphasis added) (located in the background section of the patent). These statements are directed to the invention as a whole and suggest that three blades is a part of the invention, not merely a preferred embodiment. We have held that a claim term was properly construed in accordance with a limitation that was “repeatedly and consistently” described in the specification where “[tjhose statements, some of which [were] found in the ‘Summary of the Invention’ portion of the specification, [were] not limited to describing a preferred embodiment, but more broadly describe the overall inventions of [the] pat-ente ].” Microsoft Corp. v. Multi-Tech Sys., Inc., 357 F.3d at 1346-48 (stating “the claims must be interpreted in light of the specification ... which repeatedly and consistently describes the local and remote systems of the claimed inventions as communicating directly over a telephone line” and holding that communications were restricted to being over a telephone line and excluded the use of a packet-switched network). Such is the case here.
That a three-bladed razor is not merely a preferred embodiment of the invention of the ’777 patent is further evidenced by the fact that the specification addresses only changes in the blade exposure and blade span, not the number of blades. Specifically, the ’777 patent states:
A steadily increasing blade exposure has been found most effective. Therefore, the value of the exposure of the secondary blade is ideally approximately half way between the exposure values for the primary and tertiary blades, and very satisfactory test results have been obtained with all three blade edges lying in a common plane. In most embodiments a secondary blade exposure substantially equal to zero will be very satisfactory. We recommend that the tertiary blade exposure be a positive value equal in magnitude to the negative exposure of the primary blade.
The span Sx of the primary blade 11 is from 0.5 to 1.5 mm and is preferably substantially equal to 0.70 mm. The span S2 of the secondary blade 12 and the span S3 of the tertiary blade 13 have the values in the range of 1.0 to 2.0 mm. They are shown [in FIG. 1] equal with a value substantially equal to 1.50 mm. The edge of the tertiary blade is at a distance S4 substantially equal to 1.80 mm in front of the cap.
Id. at col. 2, 11. 30-40, col. 3, 11. 25-32. (emphases added). Likewise, when describing “the preferred embodiment of the invention,” id. at col. 2,11. 61-62, the specification describes the blade exposures of *1380the primary and tertiary blades as being the variant factor,5 with the exposure of the primary blade being -0.04 mm and the exposure of the tertiary blade being + 0.06 mm:
A more favourable blade arrangement is shown in FIG. 2. The spans SI, S2, S3 and S4 are the same as those mentioned above for FIG. 1. The primary blade in this embodiment has an exposure of - 0.04 mm, the exposure of the secondary blade 12 is zero, the edges of all three blades lying in a common plane P as in FIG. 1, and the exposure of the tertiary blade 13 is + 0.06 mm. Thus, there is a progressive increase in blade exposure from the leading blade 11 to the trailing blade 13.
Id. at col. 3, 11. 41-50 (emphases added). The consistent factor throughout these passages and the patent’s drawings is the presence of three blades arranged with progressive blade exposures and blade spans. It is the value of the blade exposure and span that the inventors intended could vary, not number of blades in the configuration. Thus, a three-bladed razor is not merely a preferred embodiment of the invention; rather, it is the invention. Indeed, nowhere in the specification is the blade unit of the invention expressly described as having multiple blades in excess of three.
The majority discusses at length that the claim terms “first,” “second,” and “third” do not import a sequential or finite meaning, thus allowing for two “second” blades positioned between the first and third blades, with the blades arranged having the described blade exposures and blade spans. Such a premise, however, assumes that a razor with four blades arranged with one blade configured as the claimed “first blade,” one blade configured as the claimed “third” blade, and the remaining two blades configured as the claimed “second” blade would achieve the same desirable results as a razor with only three blades (i.e., one “second blade”) arranged in the described geometry. Contrary to the majority’s implication,6 there is absolutely no support in the specification for this assumption. Further, the inclusion of more than three blades is in direct conflict with the specification’s repeated and consistent reference to the invention as containing three blades, e.g., “the three-bladed unit of the invention,” “a three-bladed safety razor blade unit,” “three blades,” and “three sharpened blades.”7 Finally, the text of the claim itself and the specification suggest only one second blade (i.e., “said second blade,” id. col. 4, line 11 (emphasis added), “the secondary blade,” col. 3, lines 28, 46 (emphases added)). By using “the” and the singular form of “blade,” the patentee showed his invention possessed only one second blade positioned between the blade closest to the cap and the blade closest to the guard. The paten-tee did not state “secondary blades,” which would be the situation if the invention included two secondary blades. Further, in the introductory section of the patent, when the patentee is defining “blade exposure,” he explains how to measure it in terms of “the three-bladed unit of the invention ...,” id. at col. 1, 1. 54 (emphasis added).8 The specification’s prevalent ref*1381erences to a three-bladed razor and the claim’s use of the singular “blade” show that there can only be one “first” blade, one “second” blade, and one “third” blade. Any other reading of the claim terms “first,” “second,” and “third” is counter to the very nature of the invention described and claimed in the ’777 patent.9
In sum, the patent specification 1) repeatedly and consistently teaches that the safety razor of the invention is one having three blades; 2) teaches preferred embodiments which vary the configuration of the blades but in no way changes the number of blades of the invention; and 3) discourages the use of more than two blades in a blade unit except for the three-bladed blade unit having the claimed geometry. I believe these teachings together clearly demonstrate that the inventors did not regard a blade unit with four blades arranged in the described geometry as their invention. Therefore, “comprising” and “group of’ should not be construed to include a safety razor having more than three blades.
The only support in the specification for the majority’s position that “comprising” and “group of’ should be given their conventional meaning is the following sentence: “This invention is concerned with safety razors, and relates in particular to safety razors having blade units with a plurality of blades defining parallel sharpened edges arranged to pass in turn over a skin surface being shaved.” Id. at col. 1, 11. 3-6 (emphasis added). This single, broad statement, not repeated or endorsed elsewhere in the patent’s written description, cannot be read to expand the invention beyond what is explicitly described throughout the specification. In particular, it cannot rewrite the statements that the novelty of the invention “resid[es] in the provision of three blades set in the blade unit,” id. at col. 3,11. 16-18, and that the goal of “an enhanced shaving efficiency is secured due to there being three sharpened blades,” id. at col. 4, 11. 2-3. The majority relies on this one instance of the use of the word “plurality” and conveniently ignores the repeated statements in the specification that the blade unit is composed of three blades.10
Finally, the majority’s claim construction ignores the notice function of the specification. As the Supreme Court stated almost two hundred years ago, an
object of the specification is, to put the public in possession of what the party claims as his own invention, so as to ascertain if he claim[s] any thing that is in common use, or is already known, and to guard against prejudice or injury from the use of an invention which the party may otherwise innocently suppose not to be patented. It is, therefore, for the purpose of warning an innocent purchaser or other person using a machine, of his infringement of the patent; *1382and at the same time of taking from the inventor the means of practising upon the credulity or the fears of other persons, by pretending that his invention is more than what it really is, or different from its ostensible objects, that the pat-entee is required to distinguish his invention in his specification.
Evans v. Eaton, 20 U.S. (7 Wheat.) 356, 434, 5 L.Ed. 472 (1822) (emphases added). Anyone reading the ’777 patent would be left with the indelible impression that the patentee had invented a three-bladed, and only three-bladed, safety razor with blades having the described variable blade span and blade exposure. Only with a crystal ball could a competitor in the safety-razor industry have concluded that the ’777 patent could cover a four-bladed razor.
II.
Certainly, claiming conventions demonstrate that claim terms such as “comprising” and “group of’ are traditionally viewed as open claim terms. However, here, the specification makes abundantly clear that the invention of the ’777 patent was a razor having three blades, no more, arranged in the described geometry. For this reason, I would affirm the district court’s claim construction and its denial of Gillette’s motion for a preliminary injunction.

. The blade configuration refers to the described progressive and variable blade spans *1376and blade exposures and the three blades' location relative to each other.

. The same analysis applies to the distance between the edges of the third and second bladés as described in claim 8.

. It was represented to the district court, and noted in its opinion, that the word "three,” "third,” or "tertiary” is used in thirly different places in the mere three-column-long specification of the '777 patent. Gillette, No. 03-11514-PBS, 2004 WL 3366162, at *5. Additionally, nowhere in the specification is the possibility of a four-bladed razor even suggested. This supports a finding that the claims should be interpreted as limited to razors having only three blades. See Microsoft Corp. v. Multi-Tech Sys., Inc., 357 F.3d 1340, 1348 (Fed.Cir.2004) (noting that the specification referred to transmitting data over a phone line roughly two dozen times and never suggested transmitting data through the use of a packet switched network).

. The patentee uses the term "blade unit” to describe the carrier of the blades of the inven-i tion. See '777 patent, col. 2, 11. 63-64 and representation thereof in Figs. 1 and 2.

. In this embodiment the blade spans may also vary — i.e., within the same range as that describing the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 ("The spans Sj, S2, S3, and S4 are the same as those mentioned above for FIG. 1”). Id. at col. 3,11. 43-44.

. See majority op. at 1371.

. Indeed, given the majority's claim construction, which would allow for a second second blade, the district court on remand will now have to determine validity issues including that under 35 U.S.C. § 112 ¶ 1.

. See also supra at 1378 (quoting the '777 patent at col. 2, 11. 50-53 and col. 4, 11. 2-3).

. The majority is correct that the use of the terms "first,” "second,” and "third” in a claim does not necessarily impart a sequential meaning to the items being claimed. However, here the balance of the language in claim 1 clearly demonstrates that the inventor intended a sequential relationship by saying that the second blade is located between the first and third blades. '777 patent, col. 4, 11. 7-11 ("[T]he first blade defining a blade edge nearest the guard ... and the third blade defining a blade edge nearest the cap.”).

. Additionally, the fact that the terms "several blades,” "many blades,” and "extra blades” occur in the specification is irrelevant to the claim construction at issue here. These phrases are contained in a discussion of longstanding problems associated with multiple blades. As noted above, the specification states that the use of multiple blades has historically been problematic. The solution proposed in the '777 patent is the three-bladed blade unit of the invention with its three blades set in the blade unit in particular dispositions with respect to each other and the guard and the cap.