GAO Finds "Classic Example" Of Impaired Objectivity OCI
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 09.10.04
In PURVIS Systems, Inc. (Aug. 16, 2004), GAO held that the Navy failed reasonably to consider or evaluate potential organizational conflicts of interest ("OCI") created by the awardee's role in evaluating performance of undersea warfare systems that have been manufactured either by the awardee or its competitors. GAO rejected the awardee's contention that no OCI issues could be created by the awardee's evaluation of the systems because such work was not "part of the procurement process" and explained that the situation presented a "classic example" of an "impaired objectivity" OCI.
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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.
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