Vascular Solutions LLC, Teleflex LLC, Arrow International LLC, Teleflex Life… v. Medtronic, Inc., Medtronic Vascular, Inc.

United States Court of Appeals
for the Federal Circuit
______________________
VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC, TELEFLEX LLC,
ARROW INTERNATIONAL LLC, TELEFLEX LIFE
SCIENCES LLC,
Plaintiffs-Appellants
v.
MEDTRONIC, INC., MEDTRONIC VASCULAR,
INC.,
Defendants-Appellees
______________________
2024-1398
______________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
District of Minnesota in No. 0:19-cv-01760-PJS-TNL,
Judge Patrick J. Schiltz.
______________________
Decided: September 16, 2024
______________________
WILLIAM M. J AY , Goodwin Procter LLP, Washington,
DC, argued for plaintiffs-appellants. Also represented by
G ABRIEL F ERRANTE , New York, NY; SEUNG SUB K IM , T ARA
CATHERINE N ORGARD, J. D EREK VANDENBURGH , J OSEPH W.
WINKELS , Carlson, Caspers, Vandenburgh & Lindquist,
P.A., Minneapolis, MN; SANJIV P. L AUD , J OHN T HOMAS
VITT , McCurdy Laud, LLC, Minneapolis, MN.
BRITTANY BLUEITT AMADI, Wilmer Cutler Pickering
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 2
Hale and Dorr LLP, Washington, DC, argued for defend-
ants-appellees. Also represented by D AVID P. YIN; MARK
CHRISTOPHER F LEMING, Boston, MA; CARA S. D ONELS ,
Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Des Moines, IA; BARBARA
MARCHEVSKY , L AURA L YNN MYERS , K URT J OHN
N IEDERLUECKE , Minneapolis, MN.
______________________
Before M OORE, Chief Judge, P ROST , Circuit Judge, and
MAZZANT , District Judge.1
MAZZANT , District Judge.
Vascular Solutions LLC, Teleflex LLC, Arrow Interna-
tional LLC, and Teleflex Life Sciences LLC (collectively,
Teleflex) filed a patent infringement suit against Med-
tronic, Inc. and Medtronic Vascular, Inc. (collectively, Med-
tronic) in the United States District Court for the District
of Minnesota, asserting forty claims across seven patents:
U.S. Patent No. 8,048,032 (the ’032 patent); U.S. Patent
No. 8,142,413 (the ’413 patent); U.S. Patent No. RE45,380
(the ’380 patent); U.S. Patent No. RE45,760 (the ’760 pa-
tent); U.S. Patent No. RE45,776 (the ’776 patent); U.S. Pa-
tent No. RE46,116 (the ’116 patent); and U.S. Patent No.
RE47,379 (the ’379 patent). After conducting claim con-
struction proceedings over ten of the asserted claims, the
district court concluded the claim limitation “substantially
rigid portion/segment” was indefinite and invalidated all
asserted claims. Vascular Sols. LLC v. Medtronic, Inc., No.
19-CV-1760 (PJS/TNL), 2024 WL 95193 (D. Minn. Jan. 9,
2024). The parties stipulated to final judgment based on
that determination. J.A. 22–23. Teleflex appeals. We
1 Honorable Amos L. Mazzant, III, District Judge,
United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Texas, sitting by designation.
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 3
vacate the final judgment and remand for further proceed-
ings.
BACKGROUND
I
The seven asserted patents in this litigation all de-
scend from a common application2 filed on May 3, 2006.
They are directed to a “coaxial guide catheter that is deliv-
erable through standard guide catheters by utilizing a
guidewire rail segment to permit delivery without blocking
use of the guide catheter.” ’032 patent at 2:53–56.3 As we
have previously noted,
[i]n a preferred embodiment, the disclosed exten-
sion catheter includes three parts: (1) a proximal4
substantially rigid portion 20 (yellow); (2) a rein-
forced portion 18 (blue); and (3) a distal flexible tip
16 (pink). See [’032 patent] at 6:31–7:15, see also id.
at Fig. 4 (reproduced below as annotated by Med-
tronic’s expert). The proximal end of the guide ex-
tension catheter includes a “side opening,” i.e., a
partially cylindrical region (red circle), which per-
mits the extension catheter to receive and deliver
interventional cardiological devices while it is
within the guide catheter. Id. at 10:1–20. As de-
picted in Figure 4, the side opening may include
multiple inclined regions separated by a non-
2 U.S. Patent App. 11/416,629 (the ’629 application).
3 The patents-in-suit share a common specification.
For simplicity, all citations to the written description will
refer to the ’032 patent.
4 The term “distal” means the end of the catheter far-
ther from the physician (closer to the heart), and the term
“proximal” means closer to the physician (farther from the
heart).
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 4
inclined region, a structure referred to herein as a
double-inclined side opening. The patents-in-suit
also disclose and claim embodiments in which the
diameter of the extension catheter is no more than
one French smaller than the diameter of the guide
catheter, thereby preserving maximal volume
within the coaxial lumen for receiving interven-
tional devices. See id. at 3:28–49.
Medtronic, Inc. v. Teleflex Innovations S.À.R.L., 69 F.4th
1341, 1344–45 (Fed. Cir. 2023).
The asserted claims differ as to how they disclose the
side opening.5 Some claims include the side opening as part
of the substantially rigid portion/segment (see, e.g., ’032 pa-
tent claim 13), while other claims recite the side opening
as separate and distal to the substantially rigid por-
tion/segment (see, e.g., ’776 patent claim 25). The repre-
sentative claims below demonstrate this difference.
Claims 11, 13, and 18 of the ’032 patent recite:
5 The patents-in-suit use different phrases to de-
scribe the side opening, such as “partially cylindrical” and
“a cross-sectional shape having a full circumference por-
tion, a hemicylindrical portion and an arcuate portion.” See
’032 patent at 12:13 (using “partially cylindrical”), ’032 pa-
tent at 12:41–42 (using “a cross-sectional shape having a
full circumference portion, a hemicylindrical portion and
an arcuate portion”).
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 5
[11] A device for use with a standard guide cathe-
ter, the standard guide catheter having a continu-
ous lumen extending for a predefined length from
a proximal end at a hemostatic valve to a distal end
adapted to be placed in a branch artery, the contin-
uous lumen of the guide catheter having a circular
cross-section and a cross-sectional inner diameter
sized such that interventional cardiology devices
are insertable into and through the lumen to the
branch artery, the device comprising:
an elongate structure having an overall length that
is longer than the predefined length of the contin-
uous lumen of the guide catheter, the elongate
structure including:
a flexible tip portion defining a tubular structure
having a circular cross-section that is smaller than
the circular cross-section of the continuous lumen
of the guide catheter and a length that is shorter
than the predefined length of the continuous lumen
of the guide catheter, the flexible tip portion being
sized having a cross-sectional outer diameter sized
to be insertable through the cross-sectional inner
diameter of the continuous lumen of the guide cath-
eter and defining a coaxial lumen having a cross-
sectional inner diameter through which interven-
tional cardiology devices are insertable;
a reinforced portion proximal to the flexible tip por-
tion; and
a substantially rigid portion proximal of and con-
nected to, and more rigid along a longitudinal axis
than, the flexible tip portion and defining a rail
structure without a lumen and having a maximal
cross-sectional dimension at a proximal portion
that is smaller than the cross-sectional outer diam-
eter of the flexible tip portion,
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 6
such that when at least a distal portion of the flex-
ible tip portion is extended distally of the distal end
of the guide catheter with at least proximal portion
of the reinforced portion remaining within the con-
tinuous lumen of the guide catheter, at least a por-
tion of the proximal portion of the substantially
rigid portion extends proximally through the hemo-
static valve in common with interventional cardiol-
ogy devices that are insertable into the guide
catheter.
[13] The device of claim 11 wherein the substan-
tially rigid portion further includes a partially cy-
lindrical portion defining an opening extending for
a distance along a side thereof defined transverse
to a longitudinal axis that is adapted to receive an
interventional cardiology device passed through
continuous lumen of the guide catheter and into
the coaxial lumen while the device is inserted into
the continuous lumen, the opening extending sub-
stantially along at least a portion of a length of the
substantially rigid portion.
[18] The device of claim 11 wherein the substan-
tially rigid portion includes, starting at a from dis-
tal to proximal direction, a cross-sectional shape
having a full circumference portion, a hemicylindri-
cal portion and an arcuate portion.
’032 patent at 11:28–12:4, 12:12–20, 12:39–42 (emphasis
added).
In contrast, claim 25 of the ’776 patent recites:
[25] A guide extension catheter for use with a guide
catheter, comprising:
a substantially rigid segment;
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 7
a tubular structure defining a lumen and posi-
tioned distal to the substantially rigid segment;
and
a segment defining a partially cylindrical opening
positioned between a distal end of the substantially
rigid segment and a proximal end of the tubular
structure, the segment defining the partially cylin-
drical opening having an angled proximal end,
formed from a material more rigid than a material
or material combination forming the tubular struc-
ture, and configured to receive one or more inter-
ventional cardiology devices therethrough when
positioned within the guide catheter,
wherein a cross-section of the guide extension cath-
eter at the proximal end of the tubular structure
defines a single lumen.
’776 patent at 13:36–52 (emphasis added).
II
In 2017, QXMédical, LLC (QXMédical) filed a declara-
tory judgment action of non-infringement against Teleflex
in the District of Minnesota. D. Minn, No. 0:17-cv-01969-
PJS-TNL, Dkt. #1. Teleflex counterclaimed for patent in-
fringement. D. Minn, No. 0:17-cv-01969-PJS-TNL, Dkt.
#13. The parties reached claim construction, and both par-
ties asked the district court to construe the term “substan-
tially rigid.” J.A. 19254. There, the district court adopted
Teleflex’s “functional definition of ‘substantially rigid’:
‘rigid enough to allow the device . . . to be advanced within
the guide catheter.’” J.A. 19254 (QXMédical Construction).
The district court also made the following findings about
the “substantially rigid portion”: (1) “the substantially rigid
portion must have a considerable degree of flexibility,” and
(2) “the substantially rigid portion must be rigid enough to
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 8
push the tubular structure through the guide catheter and
into the coronary artery.” J.A. 19257–58.
III
In July 2019, Teleflex sued Medtronic for patent in-
fringement, asserting that Medtronic’s guide-extension-
catheter Telescope product infringes the claims of several
Teleflex patents. Teleflex proceeded to seek a preliminary
injunction based on the Telescope’s alleged infringement of
the ’380, ’776, ’379, and ’760 patents. J.A. 661–62. In its
request for preliminary injunctive relief, Teleflex applied
the QXMédical Construction of “substantially rigid”: “rigid
enough to allow the device . . . to be advanced within the
guide catheter.” J.A. 731 (declaration of Teleflex’s expert,
applying “the construction of claim terms agreed to by the
parties and/or adopted by the court in the [QXMédical
case]”). Medtronic filed multiple inter partes review (IPR)
petitions, and it simultaneously argued to the district court
that the asserted claims were invalid as anticipated in view
of prior art, in particular the Itou6 reference. The district
court denied Teleflex’s request for a preliminary injunc-
tion, finding Medtronic had raised substantial questions of
invalidity regarding written description and anticipation
based on Itou. The district court also stayed the case pend-
ing the results of Medtronic’s IPRs.
The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the Board) insti-
tuted fifteen IPRs. The Board determined some claims un-
patentable, but it determined that Medtronic failed to show
the unpatentability of all currently asserted claims. Appel-
lants’ Opening Br. 23–24. The Board concluded that Itou
was not a prior art reference since Teleflex had conceived
and reduced to practice its invention first. And the Board
also found that the substitute claims had sufficient written
6 U.S. Patent No. 7,736,366.
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 9
description support. To date, the Federal Circuit has af-
firmed all fifteen of the Board’s decisions in five consoli-
dated appeals.7
After receiving final written decisions from the Board,
Teleflex received permission and proceeded to file a second
preliminary injunction request at the district court. At that
point, Medtronic advocated that the district court construe
the term “substantially rigid portion” as the portion of a
device “act[ing] like a pushrod.” J.A. 21887–88.
Teleflex mapped its various claims onto Medtronic’s
Telescope guide extension catheter. For claims reciting the
side opening as part of a substantially rigid portion, Tele-
flex identified the portion of the Telescope “that includes
the pushwire, spade marker and the rigid [] polymer” as a
“substantially rigid portion that includes a side opening.”
J.A. 20076. For claims reciting a separate side opening por-
tion distal to a substantially rigid portion, Teleflex identi-
fied the substantially rigid portion as stopping at the side
opening. See J.A. 20078–79. At this second preliminary in-
junction stage, Medtronic and the district court both
“grouped” the asserted limitations into “Group One” and
“Group Two.” Group One limitations required that the side
opening be in the substantially rigid portion, and Group
Two limitations required that the side opening not be in
the substantially rigid portion. In its reply brief in support
7 Medtronic, Inc. v. Teleflex Innovations S.À.R.L.,
68 F.4th 1298 (Fed. Cir. 2023) (Medtronic I); Medtronic,
Inc. v. Teleflex Innovations S.À.R.L., 69 F.4th 1341 (Fed.
Cir. 2023) (Medtronic II); Medtronic, Inc. v. Teleflex Inno-
vations S.À.R.L., 70 F.4th 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2023) (Medtronic
III); Medtronic, Inc. v. Teleflex Life Scis. Ltd., 86 F.4th 902
(Fed. Cir. 2023) (Medtronic IV); Medtronic, Inc. v. Teleflex
Life Scis. Ltd., No. 2022-1605, 2022-1606, 2024 WL
1208642 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 21, 2024) (Medtronic V).
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of its second preliminary injunction request, Teleflex de-
marcated the substantially rigid portion based on the
groups identified by the district court.
J.A. 20079 (annotations added by Teleflex).
The district court denied Teleflex’s second preliminary
injunction request, finding Medtronic had “offered a strong
argument . . . that ‘substantially rigid portion’ should be
construed to mean only that portion of the device that acts
as a pushrod.” J.A. 21898. The district court criticized Te-
leflex’s infringement positions and wondered “how a skilled
artisan could possibly be expected to understand the scope
of a patent when the same device could simultaneously in-
fringe two mutually exclusive claims within that patent.”
J.A. 21898 (emphasis original).
In other words, the district court questioned the sound-
ness of construing the claims in a way that would allow Te-
leflex to successfully assert Group One and Group Two
claims against the same accused product. J.A. 21897–99
(explaining that “Teleflex is contending that the same sub-
stantially rigid portion shrinks or grows as necessary to ac-
commodate two mutually exclusive limitations”) (emphasis
in original). After the denial of the second preliminary in-
junction request, the district court proceeded to claim con-
struction. Teleflex argued that “substantially rigid” should
be given the QXMédical Construction and that “portion” or
“segment” should be construed as a “longitudinal section.”
J.A. 22014, 22008. Medtronic argued that “substantially
rigid portion/segment” should be construed as
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 11
“portion/section of the device acting as a pushrod.” J.A.
23209. The district court rejected both constructions. The
district court made clear its finding that “there is only one
substantially rigid portion.” J.A. 27090. The district court
also explained Figure 4 does not illustrate all embodi-
ments, just the embodiments encompassed in the Group
One claims:
And Figure 4 doesn’t illustrate all embodiments.
Figure 4 is an illustration of the [G]roup [O]ne
claims. Figure 4 is an illustration of what it looks
like when the side opening is in the substantially
rigid portion. It doesn’t illustrate, it doesn’t at-
tempt to illustrate . . . the [G]roup [T]wo embodi-
ments . . . where the side opening is distal to the
substantially rigid portion, and we know that be-
cause the patent itself tells us.
J.A. 27097.
At an impasse after rejecting both constructions, the
district court appointed an independent expert to analyze
the issue and propose a construction. At the parties’ recom-
mendation, the district court appointed Andrei Iancu, for-
mer director of the United States Patent and Trademark
Office, as the expert. The district court tasked Mr. Iancu
with “producing a written report that proposes a construc-
tion of the term ‘substantially rigid portion/segment’ and
explains the basis for his proposed construction—or, in the
alternative, a written report that states that he finds the
term to be indefinite and explains the basis for his conclu-
sion.” J.A. 27259. Teleflex urged Mr. Iancu to adopt a
“split” construction, one construction for claims where the
side opening is included in the substantially rigid portion,
and one construction for claims where the side opening is
not in the substantially rigid portion. J.A. 27299–300. Med-
tronic urged Mr. Iancu to find the claims indefinite. J.A.
27300.
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 12
Mr. Iancu rejected both parties’ constructions. Instead,
Mr. Iancu proposed “substantially rigid portion/segment”
be construed as “the first proximal section of a multi-sec-
tion guide extension catheter, that ends where there is a
material drop in the overall rigidity of the guide extension
catheter at or distally to the proximal end of the coaxial
lumen where an interventional cardiology device is in-
serted.” J.A. 27281. He specifically rejected Medtronic’s in-
definiteness arguments, finding that “a [skilled artisan]
would be able to understand the boundaries and require-
ments of the substantially rigid segment/portion.” J.A.
27331. But he also agreed with the district court’s determi-
nation regarding mutual exclusivity and “shared the [dis-
trict court’s] skepticism at Teleflex’s efforts to secure a
construction that would allow it to map ‘two mutually ex-
clusive limitations’ onto the same accused product.” J.A.
27318.
After receiving Mr. Iancu’s construction, the district
court conducted another claim construction proceeding and
asked the parties to submit briefs either accepting or op-
posing the recommendation. The district court told the par-
ties: “I just want the expert’s proposed construction to be
briefed, whether it works and, you know, if it doesn’t work,
then I think we almost necessarily have to hold [the term
is] indefinite.” J.A. 27399.
Teleflex advocated that the district court adopt Mr.
Iancu’s recommendation. See J.A. 27536. And while Tele-
flex recognized that Mr. Iancu’s construction was incon-
sistent with Group Two claims, Teleflex argued that Mr.
Iancu’s construction did not render the Group One claims
indefinite because of that inconsistency. In response, Med-
tronic noted that the specification supported Mr. Iancu’s
construction for the Group One claims, but it argued that
all claims should be invalidated because Mr. Iancu’s con-
struction would render the Group Two claims nonsensical.
J.A. 27415.
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The district court ultimately agreed with Medtronic. It
again reiterated that the claims were mutually exclusive,
and Teleflex’s construction would result in the same device
simultaneously infringing mutually exclusive claims. J.A.
9. The court ultimately concluded that all claims including
the phrase “substantially rigid portion/segment” were in-
definite. J.A. 20. Because all asserted claims include that
term, Teleflex and Medtronic stipulated to final judgment.
J.A. 27804–05.
D ISCUSSION
Teleflex argues the district court erred in its conclusion
that the limitation “substantially rigid portion/segment” is
indefinite. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1295(a)(1).
“Claim construction is a question of law and receives de
novo review on appeal.” Nature Simulation Sys. Inc. v. Au-
todesk, Inc., 50 F.4th 1358, 1360 (Fed. Cir. 2022) (citing
Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370,
390–91 (1996)). “Claim indefiniteness is a legal conclusion,
in implementation of 35 U.S.C. § 112.” Id. “Indefiniteness,
therefore, like claim construction, is a question of law that
we review de novo, with the underlying factual findings re-
viewed for clear error.” Cox Commc’ns, Inc. v. Sprint
Commc’n Co., 838 F.3d 1224, 1228 (Fed. Cir. 2016).
“United States patents are accompanied by a presump-
tion of validity, 35 U.S.C. § 282, and invalidity must be es-
tablished by clear and convincing evidence.” Nature
Simulation Sys., 50 F.4th at 1361 (citing Sonix Tech. Co.,
Ltd. v. Publ’ns Int’l, Ltd., 844 F.3d 1370, 1377 (Fed. Cir.
2017)).
“Claim indefiniteness is decided from the viewpoint of
persons skilled in the field of the invention.” Id. at 1360.
The district court adopted the parties’ agreement that a
person of ordinary skill in the field would be one of the
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 14
following: “(1) a medical doctor who had completed a coro-
nary intervention training program and had worked as an
interventional cardiologist; or (2) a person with an under-
graduate degree in engineering (such as mechanical or bi-
omedical engineering) with three years’ experience
designing medical devices, including catheters or catheter-
deployable devices.”8 J.A. 3.
Teleflex argues that the district court erred in its de-
termination that “the boundary of the ‘substantially rigid
portion’ must be the same for all claims.” Appellants’ Open-
ing Br. 35. Rather, Teleflex argues,
[t]he boundary of the substantially rigid portion
necessarily varies according to other claim lan-
guage because the claims divide up the device in
different ways. In some combinations, the side
opening is designated as its own segment; in oth-
ers, the side opening is designated as falling in the
substantially rigid portion. That does not make the
claims “mutually exclusive,” as the district court
thought; it simply means the claims set different
boundaries between the segments they define.
Id. at 35–36.
Medtronic, on the other hand, points to multiple prob-
lems it sees with Teleflex’s construction. First, Medtronic
believes Teleflex’s construction of substantially rigid por-
tion cannot be correct, since its proposed construction
would transform every piece of a functioning guide exten-
sion catheter into a “substantially rigid portion.” Appellees’
Resp. Br. 37. Medtronic also argues that Teleflex’s pro-
posed construction “fails to answer the critical question—
8 The parties also agree that extensive experience
and technical training might substitute for education, and
advanced degrees might substitute for experience. J.A. 3.
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 15
how to identify the bounds of the [s]ubstantially [r]igid
[p]ortion.” Id. at 39. Finally, Medtronic implores that “[t]he
inescapable impact of Teleflex’s constructions remains that
Teleflex can accuse any and all portions of a guide exten-
sion catheter of satisfying the [s]ubstantially [r]igid [p]or-
tion limitation, depending on what other limitations
Teleflex needs to prove to establish infringement.” Id. at
40.
First, we hold the district court erred when it deter-
mined the asserted claims were “mutually exclusive” and
indefinite. The claims of a patent “must be precise enough
to afford clear notice of what is claimed, thereby ‘ap-
pris[ing] the public of what is still open to them.’” Nautilus,
Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., 572 U.S. 898, 909 (2014).
“[The claims’] principal function, therefore, is to provide no-
tice of the boundaries of the right to exclude and to define
limits . . . . Claims define and circumscribe . . . .” Ariad
Pharms., Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co., 598 F.3d 1336, 1347 (Fed.
Cir. 2010). The district court determined the asserted
claims were “mutually exclusive” because the Group One
claims place the side opening within the substantially rigid
portion, and the Group Two claims place the side opening
distal to the substantially rigid portion. See J.A. 7. The dis-
trict court’s conclusion, in effect, means that (1) claims in a
patent cannot vary in the way they claim the disclosed sub-
ject matter, and (2) independent claims must be totally con-
sistent with other independent claims. Claiming is not
restricted in this way.9 The art of claiming sometimes in-
volves drafting claims in a variety of ways to encompass
the disclosed subject matter, so long as the claims them-
selves inform, “with reasonable certainty, those skilled in
9 We neither consider nor address how the asserted
claims might be read at the infringement stage.
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the art about the scope of the invention.” See Nautilus, 572
U.S. at 901.
By finding the claims “mutually exclusive,” the district
court forced itself into a later conclusion of indefiniteness,
which it did not have to do. We direct the district court to
conduct claim construction on a claim-by-claim basis with
the understanding that, at the claim construction stage,
the claims are not necessarily “mutually exclusive” since
each independent claim is a different ordered combination
of limitations.
Second, we hold that the boundary of the “substantially
rigid portion/segment” does not have to be consistent across
claims. The “substantially rigid portion/segment” limita-
tion is a functional limitation, meaning the substantially
rigid portion is a portion of the catheter that is substan-
tially rigid enough to achieve some function. See Hill-Rom
Servs., Inc. v. Stryker Corp., 755 F.3d 1367, 1374–75 (Fed.
Cir. 2014) (“[D]efining a particular claim term by its func-
tion is not improper . . . ,” and “[t]here is nothing improper
about defining ‘datalink’ as a link that conveys data.”). In
some claims, such as claims 13 and 18 of the ’032 patent,
the substantially rigid portion/segment includes the side
opening. In other claims, such as claim 25 of the ’776 pa-
tent, the side opening is distal to the substantially rigid
portion/segment. No matter if the side opening is within or
distal to the substantially rigid portion/segment, that por-
tion/segment of the catheter must maintain the substantial
rigidity to achieve some function—in this case, the function
of allowing the device to be advanced within the guide cath-
eter.
It is true that our law indicates that “a claim term
should be construed consistently with its appearance in
other places in the same claim or in other claims of the
same patent.” Rexnord Corp. v. Laitram Corp., 274 F.3d
1336, 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2001); see also Samsung Elecs. Co.,
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 17
Ltd. v. Elm 3DS Innovations, LLC, 925 F.3d 1373, 1378
(Fed. Cir. 2019) (“Where multiple patents derive from the
same parent application and share many common terms,
we must interpret the claims consistently across all as-
serted patents.”). This decision does not diverge from our
law on the matter. Rather, this decision clarifies that the
term “substantially rigid portion” be construed the same
way across the patents, but that construction can be a func-
tional construction that does not specify the boundary of
the “substantially rigid portion.”
To the extent Medtronic argues that this type of read-
ing might confuse a person skilled in the field as to how to
measure the boundary of the substantial rigid portion, we
do not find that argument availing. The claims themselves
indicate to a person skilled in the field how to measure the
boundary, claim-by-claim. In addition, to the extent Med-
tronic objects to a functional understanding of this limita-
tion that would allow the same device to infringe claims
that measure the boundary differently, we find that posi-
tion premature at the claim construction stage. See
Seachange Int’l, Inc. v. C-COR, Inc., 413 F.3d 1361, 1377
(Fed. Cir. 2005) (“A determination of infringement is a two-
step process. The court must first correctly construe the as-
serted claims, and then compare the properly construed
claims to the allegedly infringing devices, systems, or
methods.”) (quoting NTP, Inc. v. Research In Motion, Ltd.,
392 F.3d 1336, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2004)).
CONCLUSION
We have considered Medtronic’s remaining arguments
and find them unpersuasive. The district court, in its at-
tempt to construe various claim terms, incorrectly deter-
mined that Teleflex’s asserted claims were mutually
exclusive and that the boundary of the “substantially rigid
portion/segment” needed to be construed consistently
across claims. We vacate and remand to the district court
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VASCULAR SOLUTIONS LLC v. MEDTRONIC, INC. 18
with instruction that the asserted claims are not neces-
sarily mutually exclusive, and the claim limitation “sub-
stantially rigid portion/segment” does not have to have a
consistent boundary across different independent claims.
VACATED AND REMANDED
COSTS
No costs.
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