Construction of patent claims by reference to examples - Nufarm Ltd v Jurox Pty Ltd [2008] FCA 178

Chris Bird, Partner, and John Landells, Patent Attorney of Allens Arthur Robinson report on Nufarm Ltd v Jurox Pty Ltd, in which the Federal Court found for non-infringement of an Australian patent essentially on the basis of reference to the specification, and particularly the example formulations, to determine the scope of two claim terms deemed ambiguous by the court, namely ‘emulsion’ and ‘phase’. According to Chris Bird and John Landells, technical terms used in patent claims – even those that at first glance appear unambiguous – are often subject to clarity arguments, and it is therefore essential to clearly define in the specification the meaning intended by such terms. When using a range of examples within the specification to highlight and support inventive step of claimed features, care must also be taken not to make any further limiting statements that may be read as undesirably narrowing the scope of the terms used in the claims.

Construction of Patent Claims by Reference to Examples


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