Supreme Court Adopts More Deferential Standards For Claim Construction

In Teva Pharmaceuticals v. Sandoz, the U.S. Supreme Court adopted standards for claim construction that are more deferential to the claim constructions formulated by trial courts. Previously, the constructions of patent claims made by lower courts would be reviewed de novo in their entirety by the Federal Circuit and other appellate courts, which created a strong incentive for parties to appeal any unfavorable claim constructions.

Now, however, while trial court findings made on the basis of evidence intrinsic to a patent (such as its specification or prosecution history) will still use the old standard, trial court findings made on the basis of extrinsic evidence (such as other reference materials or expert testimony) will use the more deferential clear error standard. This may make it less likely that claim constructions will be overturned on appeal.