Lawyer Commentary Mondaq United States "A"/"An" Means "One Or More," Said The Federal Circuit'Again

"A"/"An" Means "One Or More," Said The Federal Circuit'Again

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In ABS Global, Inc. v. Cytonome/ST, LLC, No. 2022-1761, 2023 WL 6885009 (Fed. Cir. Oct. 19, 2023), the Federal Circuit issued a precedential reminder that the use of "a" or "an" means "one or more" in an open-ended claim unless the claims, the specification, or the prosecution history necessitates a departure of this long-held general rule. See, e.g., KCJ Corp. v. Kinetic Concepts, Inc., 223 F.3d 1351, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2000) ("This court has repeatedly emphasized that an indefinite article 'a' or 'an' in patent parlance carries the meaning of 'one or more' in open-ended claims containing the transitional phrase 'comprising'"). This rule was articulated over thirty years ago...

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