by  Mel R. Quintos

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The preamble of a claim is a statement that introduces the type of general subject matter that is to be claimed. You might think that the preamble is the easiest part to write when drafting a claim. Unfortunately, such is not the case. In the recent precedential case of American Medical Systems, Inc. v. Biolitec, Inc., following a Markman hearing, the most sharply disputed terms were in the preambles of the asserted claims.

The patent in suit, U.S. Patent No. 6,986,764, is directed to the treatment of a benign growth of the prostate gland that restricts the passage of urine out of the bladder and through the urethra. A representative method claim (claim 31) reads as follows:—click here to read more—