Attorney Fees for Claim Preparation Are Recoverable
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.21.12
Obviously fighting over principle as the amounts involved were less than $10,000, in Tip Top Constr., Inc. v. Donahoe (Sept. 19, 2012) the contractor was vindicated by the Federal Circuit, which held that it could recover its claim preparation and negotiation costs, including those of its attorney, as those costs were not for claim prosecution. Perhaps the more important principle established, however, was in the reversal of the PSBCA's denial of work hours claimed when they were supported by unrebutted timesheets and declarations.
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Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25
Claim construction is a key stage of most patent litigations, where the court must decide the meaning of any disputed terms in the patent claims. Generally, claim terms are given their plain and ordinary meaning except under two circumstances: (1) when the patentee acts as its own lexicographer and sets out a definition for the term; and (2) when the patentee disavows the full scope of the term either in the specification or during prosecution. Thorner v. Sony Comput. Ent. Am. LLC, 669 F.3d 1362, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corp. highlights that patentees can act as their own lexicographers through consistent, interchangeable usage of terms across the specification, effectively defining terms by implication.
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.14.25
Microplastics Update: Regulatory and Litigation Developments in 2025
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.13.25
