Article
Delhi High Court lays down rules of claim construction – Literal rule of interpretation to be applied while interpreting claims
By Dr. Malathi Lakshmikumaran and T. Srinivasan
The article in this issue of IPR Amicus elaborately discusses a recent Delhi High Court decision wherein the Court has emphasised that the literal rule of interpretation should be applied while interpreting patent claims. Laying down several guidelines for claim construction, the Court had stated that each claim must be understood according to the ordinary meaning of the words used in a claim. It had also highlighted that the claims must be construed objectively and understood ‘on its own terms ’. Applying the law, the Court ascertained the ordinary meaning imputed to the term ‘comprising ’, used in the claim and stated that where a claim comprises of three elements ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’, it would still be an infringement if someone adds a fourth element ‘D’. According to the authors, claims must be read as ordinary English sentences without incorporating or changing their meaning by reference to the language used in the body of the specification. They also state that two independent patent claims from different patent applications must not be construed in reference to each other...
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