Inter partes reviews ("IPR") were instituted against two Pride Mobility Products Corp. patents directed to wheelchairs designed to travel over obstacles. The Federal Circuit reversed the Board's construction and cancellation of one claim and affirmed the Board's decision on all others. Judge Taranto (joined by Judge Reyna and Judge Chen) reviewed the Board's claim construction de novo because the Board's decision did not rely on extrinsic evidence. The Federal Circuit found that the Board erred in using the specification to impart a different meaning to the claim term "perpendicular." The Federal Circuit amended the claim construction, and, under that new construction, reversed the cancellation of the claim. The Federal Circuit also affirmed the Board's finding that a relevant skilled artisan would have been motivated to "lower the pivot axis," thus supporting a finding of obviousness.
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