Language matters: Grammar guides court’s patent interpretation

Description

Abstract: Grammar nerds can delight in a new ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which hears all appeals involving patent litigation. Asked to interpret the meaning of the phrase “a plurality of” when it precedes a list of components in a patent, the court relied in part on a source likely to be found on the bookshelf of every English major at some point. This short article covers the court’s finding of noninfringement based on the meaning of the phrase “a plurality of.” SIMO Holdings Inc. v. Hong Kong uCloudlink Network Technology Ltd., No. 2019-2411 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 5, 2021).