> For example, a claim could use the word "lawnmower" to refer to what you and I would call a banana by defining "lawnmower" appropriately. Yeah, a patentee ca

> For example, a claim could use the word "lawnmower" to refer to what you and I would call a banana by defining "lawnmower" appropriately. Yeah, a patentee can be his own lexicographer, but... I've never seen anything like this in practice, and I've read a lot of patents. Reading the claims in isolation generally gives you a pretty good idea of what the patent's about, once you get the hang of claim reading.