PPC Broadband, Inc. v. Corning Optical Commc'ns RF, LLC, No. 15-1361 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseA coaxial cable has an inner electrical conductor (signal) and an outer electrical conductor (ground). Poor or intermittent connections on either conductor can result in noise or non-functionality. The 060 patent discloses coaxial cable connectors having a connector body, a post, a nut (coupler), and a “continuity member” that contacts the post and the nut so that electrical grounding continuity is extended through the post and the nut. The patent discloses more than 20 embodiments of continuity members. In some embodiments, the continuity member lays adjacent to or extends underneath the connector body. Corning sought inter partes review of claims 10–25. Relying on a generalist dictionary, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board construed the term “reside around” to mean “in the immediate vicinity of; near” and concluded that the combination of prior published patent applications taught a continuity member that was positioned in the immediate vicinity of, or near, an external portion of the connector body, so that the claims were obvious. The Federal Circuit vacated, finding that the Board erred in its construction of “reside around.”
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