Webster's Third New International Dictionary Is Most-Cited for Patent Claim Interpretation

Webster's Third New International Dictionary accounts for 25% of all claim construction reference citations by the Federal Circuit and 36% of all citations to general purpose English language dictionaries and similar sources, according to an article by Joseph Miller and James Hilsentenger. They suggest making general and specific dictionary selections in the application in order to prevent the "caprice with which judges currently may choose dictionaries" so as to effectively eliminate "whatever neutrality and predictability gains the turn to dictionaries can offer."

Click here for the Merriam Webster On-Line Dictionary and Thesaurus and herw for the Merriam Webster On-Line Toolbar.

Thanks again to the "Patently Obvious: MBHB Patent Law Blog."