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 claim. It is also known as a "Claim Construction Hearing."
The term comes from a U.S. Supreme Court case Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370 (1996) during which the Court ruled that the construction of a patent, including its claims, is an issue of law for a judge to decide, rather than an issue of fact for a jury to decide.
The term comes from a U.S. Supreme Court case Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370 (1996) during which the Court ruled that the construction of a patent, including its claims, is an issue of law for a judge to decide, rather than an issue of fact for a jury to decide.