Federal Circuit Holds That Even If No Explicit Claim Construction Took Place, If the Outcome of the Analysis of the Claim Term Establishes the Scope and Meaning of the Patented Subject Matter, Claim Construction Most Likely Occurred

In Google LLC. v. Ecofactor, Inc., the Federal Circuit held that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) engaged in implicit claim construction based on the PTAB’s analysis of the claim language which established the scope and meaning of the patented subject matter – despite the fact that the PTAB explicitly stated that it was not engaging in claim construction. The Federal Circuit found the PTAB’s implicit claim construction erroneous because the claim language supported a broader reading of the limitations.