Order Of Precedence Clause Gets Boost
Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 06.06.06
In Medlin Constr. Group, Ltd. v. Harvey (June 1, 2006), the Federal Circuit sided with the contractor, finding that only the contractor's interpretation did not read relevant provisions out of the contract. Of primary interest, though, was the alternative holding, in which the court held that, even if there had been an ambiguity, it would have been resolved against the government under the order of precedence clause, giving that clause seemingly greater weight than the court has previously in many "patent ambiguity" cases decided against the contractor.
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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
