1. Home
  2. |Insights
  3. |The U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review of Clean Water Act Ruling That Could Adversely Affect Farmers and Ranchers

The U.S. Supreme Court Denies Petition for Review of Clean Water Act Ruling That Could Adversely Affect Farmers and Ranchers

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.01.03

The United States Supreme Court on June 16 denied a petition to review the Ninth Circuit's decision in Pronsolino v. Nastri. The denial leaves in place a decision upholding EPA's authority to establish "total maximum daily loads" (TMDLs) under the Clean Water Act for waters impaired solely by nonpoint source pollution such as runoff from agricultural and forest lands. See Pronsolino v. Nastri, 291 F.3d 1123 (9th Cir. 2002).

Insights

Client Alert | 2 min read | 11.14.25

Defining Claim Terms by Implication: Lexicography Lessons from Aortic Innovations LLC v. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation

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....