By Marius Meland (May 3, 2006, 12:00 AM EDT) -- "So the specification can be limiting if there is a clear definition, but what about an implicit narrowing? Can the specification limit by implication?" This question was posed by Judge Bryson and, in various other ways, by three other judges during oral argument in the Federal Circuit's en banc rehearing of the appeal in Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2005). This interest by the court during oral argument appeared to reflect a concern regarding the more difficult and more frequent issue of claim construction; namely, how words in the specification may constitute an implied disclaimer of claim scope. Yet, while "implied disclaimer" is an issue that arises frequently in claim construction, the Phillips opinion is essentially silent on the issue, focusing instead on what constitutes "clear disavowal." This article will review the case law that preceded Phillips and that which has followed to help shed some light on this most important issue of claim construction....