The Federal Circuit Held that One-Off Statements May Not Limit Claim Interpretation On Their Own, but Must Be Viewed in Context as a Part of the Whole File

The Federal Circuit, in K-Fee System GmbH v. Nespresso USA, Inc., 2022-2042 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 26, 2023), held that statements made to a foreign patent office (and cited in prosecution) may influence the plain and ordinary meaning of a claim limitation but must be viewed a part of the whole intrinsic record of the patent. One statement possibly limiting the definition of claim language must not be taken out of context, but rather should be read in consideration of the additional remarks within that submission – such as express statements to the contrary.