Today, Tue., April 3, 2012, in Advanced Fiber v. J&L, No. 2011-1243, the Federal Circuit (Lourie, Dyk (dissenting) and Prost) applied general claim construction principles to construe the term “perforated” that was not itself a claim term, but was part of the district court’s construction of the claim terms “screening medium.”  The Court also affirmed the summary judgment ruling of no willfulness because the invalidity and noninfringement defenses were “objectively reasonable” notwithstanding reversal on claim construction.

This case provides insight into the common problem of interpreting words that are used in the construction of claim term – typical claim construction principles apply to such words as well.  This case also provides incremental insight into what constitutes objectively reasonable defenses to defeat a claim of willful infringement.