Am. Med. Sys., Inc. v. Biolitec, Inc., 09-1323

Am. Med. Sys., Inc. v. Biolitec, Inc., 09-1323, involved a patent infringement suit related to patents claiming various methods and devices for vaporizing tissue by using laser radiation.  The court reversed the district court's grant of summary judgment of noninfringement to defendant, and remanded the matter as the district court erred in construing the phrase "photoselective vaporization" as a claim limitation, rather than merely a label for the invention as a whole.

As the court wrote: "Thus, in every asserted claim of the '764 patent, the language in the body of the claims recites a complete invention for achieving the stated purpose of applying laser radiation in a high volumetric power density.  Removal of the duplicative preamble language would neither alter the scope of the claims nor introduce ambiguity as to their coverage."

Related Resource:

• Full text of Am. Med. Sys., Inc. v. Biolitec, Inc., 09-1323