A ''Markman'' hearing is a pretrial hearing in a U.S. District Court during which a judge examines evidence from all parties on the appropriate meanings of relevant key words used in a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

claim, when patent infringement is alleged by a

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...

. It is also known as a "Claim Construction Hearing". Holding a ''Markman'' hearing in patent infringement cases has been common practice since the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, in the 1996 case of ''

Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc. ''Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.'', 517 U.S. 370 (1996), is a United States Supreme Court case on whether the interpretation of patent claims is a matter of law or a question of fact. An issue designated as a matter of law is resolved by t ...

'', found that the language of a patent is a matter of law for a judge to decide, not a matter of fact for a

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

to decide. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, juries determine facts in many situations, but judges determine matters of law. ''Markman'' hearings are important, because the court determines patent infringement cases by the interpretation of claims. A ''Markman'' hearing may encourage settlement, because the judge's claim construction finding can indicate a likely outcome for the patent infringement case as a whole. ''Markman'' hearings are before a judge, and generally take place before trial. A ''Markman'' hearing may occur before the close of

discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

, along with a motion for preliminary injunction, or at the end of discovery, in relation to a motion for summary judgment. A ''Markman'' hearing may also be held after the trial begins, but before jury selection. The evidence considered in a ''Markman'' hearing falls into two categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic evidence consists of the patent documentation and any prosecution history of the patent. Extrinsic evidence is testimony, expert opinion, or other unwritten sources; extrinsic evidence may not contradict intrinsic evidence.

References

United States patent law {{US-law-stub