In Vehicle IP, LLC v. AT&T Mobility LLC, et al., Civ. No. 09-1007-LPS (D. Del. Dec. 12, 2011), Judge Stark construed three claims of a patent entitled “Method and Apparatus for Determining an Expected Time of Arrival” which the Court explained was “directed at improving vehicle navigation systems through more efficient distribution of navigation functions between a mobile unit located in the vehicle and a remote dispatch, yielding a more accurate determination of expected time of arrival.” Memo Op. at 1. Finding that the patent claims and specification used the term “expected time of arrival” consistently to mean a time of day, and not an interval of time, Judge Stark construed the term to mean “time of day at which the vehicle is expected to arrive somewhere (and not remaining travel time).” Id. at 6-7. Judge Stark construed the term “way point(s),” again focusing on the claims and specification (and rejecting both parties’ proffer of extrinsic evidence), to mean “intermediate point(s) on the way to the final destination (and not the final destination itself).” Id. at 9. Finding in the specification an additional function-based limitation, Judge Stark construed the term “dispatch” to mean “a computer-based communication and processing system remotely located from the vehicle that manages and monitors vehicles.” Id. at 11. Finally, the Court adopted the parties’ agreed-upon construction of the term “determine in response to the vehicle position” to mean “determine based on the vehicle position and update as the vehicle position changes position throughout the trip.” Id. at 6 n.2.
Vehicle IP, LLC v. AT&T Mobility LLC, et al., Civ. No. 09-1007-LPS (D. Del. Dec. 12, 2011).
Delaware IP Law Blog 