Case: Patents/Claim Construction (Fed. Cir.)

The Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the District of Delaware construing a challenged patent claim term in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s action against Moderna Inc., ModernaTX Inc., and Moderna US Inc. for infringement of patents for an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. The appeals court determined that Alnylam acted as lexicographer in its requirement of a carbon bound to at least three other carbons "[u]nless otherwise specified” and that Alnylam didn’t otherwise specify for purposes of the asserted claims.