The Specification Relating to the Claimed Embodiment Defines Coined Terms

Mymail, Ltd. v. America Online, Inc., [06-1147, -1172](February 20, 2007)[BRYSON, Newman, Schall] The Federal Circuit affirmed summary judgment of non-infringement of U.S. Patent No. 6,571,290.
BRIEF: The Federal Circuit had to construe the term "NSP" which the parties agreed was a coined term. The issue was whether the NSP or the ASP performed authentication The Federal Circuit turned to the specification, which described "the process of the present invention", and concluded that the NSP had to perform the authentication function. Mymail argued that the specification disclosed embodiments where the ASP performed the authentication, but the Federal Circuit observed that these embodiments were part of an unclaimed invention. The Federal Circuit also found that Mymail had agreed before the trial court that the NSP had to perform the authentication, and cannot chainge its construction merely because it resulted in an adverse summary judgment. Mymail the argued that the NSP did perform the authentication, but the Federal Circuit found that based on the defintion of authentication the ASP, not the NSP performed the authentication.