In patent litigation, the claims of the patent are very important. Claims are the numbered, one-sentence "paragraphs" at the end of the patent. These one-sentence paragraphs define the scope (legal boundaries) of protection for a patented invention. Because a product or process can only be found to infringe a patent if it is within the scope of the protected invention, the interpretation of the claims (i.e., defining the terms in patent claim) can be the single most important step in patent infringement litigation. The process of defining the terms in patent claim is called claim construction. In 1996, the seminal case of Markman v Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 976 & 979 (Fed. Cir. 1996) (en banc) aff'd, 517 U.S. 370 (1996) changed the landscape of patent infringement cases-now requiring the Courts (the Judge presiding over the case), not the jury, to perform the claim construction function. As such, many Courts require pre-trial briefs and hold hearings before trial, called Markman Hearings, to assist the Judges in performing their legally required claim construction duties. This pre-trial claim construction process, in many instances will determine the outcome of trial, or at the very least greatly enhance or diminish the patent owner's likely trial results. Goldstein, Faucett & Prebeg, LLP understands the importance of claim construction and guides litigations with an eye toward the important date when the Court will rule on the scope of the claims.