In a decision largely applauded by patent owners and practitioners, the Federal Court of Canada has struck down the approach of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) to patent claim construction in determining whether an element of a patent claim is essential in Yves Choueifaty v Attorney General of Canada, 2020 FC 837 [Choueifaty]. If the term “claim construction” has you scratching your head, you may want to skip to “The Takeaway” section at the end of the article. Background Two decades ago, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) set out the principles of patent claim construction in a pair of decisions: Free World TrustRead More →