Also known as: ordinary meaning · customary meaning · plain meaning
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of interpretation that assigns to words in a legal instrument the meaning they would ordinarily carry to a person of ordinary skill or understanding in the relevant field or context.
Dr. Hall's will left shares to my nurses who stood by me in the operating room. Hospital records listed dozens of rotating nurses, yet testimony showed Hall consistently called only three long-term nurses his OR team. The court admitted the testimony to determine whether the ordinary description of nurses matched Hall's actual usage.
Marjorie's deed conveyed land to current tenants in good standing, but several subtenants and renewal disputes existed at her death. Clear and convincing evidence showed she meant only those with executed leases and current rent. The court reformed the text to match that intention rather than applying a rigid ordinary reading.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Bilski's application claimed a method for hedging risk in commodities markets. The Court gave the statutory term process its ordinary contemporary meaning instead of imposing a machine-or-transformation requirement. That reading allowed the claim to proceed to further patentability analysis.
Chakrabarty sought a patent on a genetically engineered bacterium capable of breaking down oil. The Court interpreted the term manufacture according to its ordinary meaning at the time of the statute. The engineered organism therefore fell within the statutory categories of patentable subject matter.
Ordinary and customary meaning controls unless the text or extrinsic evidence other than direct contradictory intent reveals uncertainty in application. Courts then treat the language as ambiguous and may consider surrounding circumstances to determine the intended meaning.
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No. Even an unambiguous document may be reformed when clear and convincing evidence shows a mistake of fact or law affected its terms and reveals the donor's true intention. Direct evidence of intention contradicting plain meaning may be considered in that reformation inquiry.
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Claim terms receive their ordinary and customary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention. That meaning is determined from the claim language itself, read in light of the specification and prosecution history, without importing limitations from the specification.
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The description is treated as ambiguous when extrinsic facts show it reasonably applies to more than one group. The court then construes the language according to the donor's intention established by a preponderance of the evidence rather than a rigid ordinary reading.
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…Court," SEC v. Sloan , 436 U. S. 103, 120-121 (1978), there is no basis for reading into its actions an intent to modify the plain meaning of the words found in § 101. See TVA v. Hill , 437 U. S. 153, 189-193 (1978); United States v. Price , 361 U. S. 304, 313 (1960). (B) The petitioner's second argument is that…