In concluding that the claim term "an encrypted digital information transmission including encrypted information" in U.S. Patent No. 8,191,091 is limited to all digital signals contrary to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board's interpretation, the Federal Circuit stated that: "Even where “prosecution history statements do not rise to the level of unmistakable disavowal, they do inform the claim construction.” "[T]he Board erred by effectively requiring the prosecution history e

The specification's consistent description of "a passive infrared detector" that is superior to those in the prior art due to its location in a wall console rather than the head unit disavows wall consoles lacking a passive infrared detector. In such situations, there is no need for express disavowal stating that placing the detector elsewhere is "impossible or even infeasible." Read the case here. #disavowal #claiminterpretation #itc