Federal Circuit Holds that Use of Open-ended Terms in the Specification (e.g. “including”) Does Not Allow for Claim Construction Including Non-disclosed Embodiments

In Sequoia Tech., LLC v. Dell, Inc., 66 F.4th 1317 (Fed. Cir. April 12, 2023), the Federal Circuit relied on intrinsic evidence to construe the term “computer-readable recording medium” and, finding references only to non-transitory media in the specification, concluded that the term referred to hardware components and not to transitory media. Although the specification used an open-ended term to describe that “computer-readable media” “includes” non-transitory media, the Federal Circuit found that the open-ended term did not invite consideration of extrinsic evidence or allow for a construction beyond what was disclosed in the specification. Accordingly, Sequoia successfully overcame the District Court’s finding that claims 8-10 of the ‘436 are ineligible under 35 U.S.C. § 101.