Definitions[]
U.S. patent law[]
Under 35 U.S.C. §112, the scope of a claim is defined based on the particular and distinct claim given in the specification of the patent.
Courts[]
The words of the claim themselves define the scope of the patented invention.[1] Further, the words of a claim are "generally given their ordinary and customary meaning."[2] Said ordinary and customary meaning is "the meaning that the term would have to a person of ordinary skill in the art in question at the time of the invention."[3]