Preamble Limits Claim Where Body Of Claim Fails To Recite Complete Invention
Client Alert | 1 min read | 03.22.06
In Bicon, Inc. v. Straumann Co. (No. 05-1168; March 20, 2006), the Federal Circuit affirms the district court's grant of summary judgment of noninfringement. Bicon and Diro, Inc. sued Straumann for infringement of a patent for a dental implant prosthesis, i.e., an emergence cuff member for use in preserving interdental papilla. Central to the claim construction and infringement analyses of the Federal Circuit is a determination of whether the preamble of the claim at issue limits the claim.
The Federal Circuit finds that the preamble of the claim recites essential elements of the invention pertaining to the structure of an abutment that is used with the claimed emergence cuff, because the preamble contains structural features of the abutment, and the body of the claim refers back to the features of the abutment described in the preamble. Moreover, the Federal Circuit determines that if the claim is not limited by the preamble, some of the limitations of the claim would be rendered meaningless. Thus, the Federal Circuit concludes that the preamble limits the claim.
Insights
Client Alert | 7 min read | 09.08.25
California’s Climate Disclosure Laws Continue to Roll Forward
In 2023, California passed two landmark laws—SB 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act; and SB 261, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act—that will require large public and privately-held entities doing business in California to comply with sweeping disclosure requirements regarding their direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and their climate-related financial risks. California subsequently passed SB 219, which updated certain deadlines and requirements of the laws (collectively, the “Climate Disclosure Laws”).
Client Alert | 3 min read | 09.08.25
RADV Audits: Implications and Recommendations for Medicare Advantage Organizations
Client Alert | 3 min read | 09.04.25
Client Alert | 2 min read | 09.03.25
