Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.

Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued January 8, 1996 Decided April 23, 1996
Full case name	Herbert Markman and Positek, Incorporated, Petitioners v. Westview Instruments, Incorporated and Althon Enterprises, Incorporated
Citations	517 U.S. 370 (more) 116 S. Ct. 1384; 134 L. Ed. 2d 577; 1996 U.S. LEXIS 2804; 64 U.S.L.W. 4263; 38 U.S.P.Q.2d (BNA) 1461; 96 Cal. Daily Op. Service 2788; 96 Daily Journal DAR 4642; 9 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 540
Case history
Prior	Directed verdict for defendant, 772 F. Supp. 1535 (E.D. Pa. 1991); affirmed, 52 F.3d 967 (Fed. Cir. 1995); cert. granted, 515 U.S. 1192 (1995).
Subsequent	None
Holding
Interpretation of patent claim terms is a matter of law for the court to decide.
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinion
Majority	Souter, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. VII

Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370 (1996), is a United States Supreme Court case on whether the interpretation of patent claims is a matter of law or a question of fact.^[1] An issue designated as a matter of law is resolved by the judge, and an issue construed as a question of fact is determined by the jury.