Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC
770 F.3d 1371
Fed. Cir.2014Background
- Williamson, as trustee for At Home Corporation Bondholders’ Liquidating Trust, owns the '840 patent and sues multiple tech defendants for infringement.
- The district court construed
- graphical display
- as a pictorial map and treated
- distributed learning control module
- ,
- The court held independent claims 1 and 17 not infringed and claims 8-12 invalid under §112, para. 2.
- The parties stipulated to a final judgment; Williamson appeals and the Federal Circuit vacates and remands.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graphical display construction scope | Williamson: not limited to a pictorial map | Appellees: construction consistent with written description | The district court erred; term is not limited to a pictorial map. |
| Distributed learning control module as means-plus-function | District court erred by applying §112, para. 6 | Term lacks structure and is means-plus-function | The term is not means-plus-function; but the case is vacated/remanded on related grounds. |
| Indefiniteness of claims 8-12 under §112 | Invalidity sustained due to lack of structure | Not clearly indefinitley | Judgment on indefiniteness vacated; remand. |
Key Cases Cited
- Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (guidelines for claim construction and analysis of intrinsic vs extrinsic evidence)
- Laitram Corp. v. NEC Corp., 163 F.3d 1342 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (claims define scope; do not import limitations from description)
- Teleflex, Inc. v. Ficosa N. Am. Corp., 299 F.3d 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (means-plus-function framework and presumption analysis)
- Personalized Media Commc’ns, LLC v. ITC, 161 F.3d 696 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (presumption against means-plus-function asserting when no 'means' term used)
- DePuy Spine, Inc. v. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc., 469 F.3d 1005 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (limits on indefiniteness and structure in claim terms)
- Lighting World, Inc. v. Birchwood Lighting, Inc., 382 F.3d 1354 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (nonce words and structure; context matters)
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology v. Abacus Software, 462 F.3d 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2006) (structure in function analysis; dictionary aid)
- Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. v. International Game Tech., 521 F.3d 1328 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (structure-versus-function and claim construction principles)
- Noah Systems, Inc. v. Intuit Inc., 675 F.3d 1302 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (corresponding structure requirement for multiple functions in a claim)