The term "patentability" also applies to inventions, and the questioner did not specify "subject matter patentability", which is only one of several factors that must be considered in deciding if a particular innovation is patentable. In fact, I would say that the question's phrasing makes it pretty clear that the intended meaning was patentability of the invention, not subject matter. To quote page 46 of the final jury instructions:
>Not all innovations are patentable. A utility patent claim is invalid if the claimed invention would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the field at the time of invention.
So again, it is reasonable to say that Hogan may have simply misinterpreted the question he was being asked, and that whether he understood the jury instructions cannot be gleaned from this exchange. It is not reasonable to say that Hogan's interpretation of the question was correct and that Groklaw's interpretation was wrong.
I guess I see your interpretation, but that makes it a weird question. "Patentability" in that sense encompasses both legal questions and factual questions. A jury can't really consider the "patentability" of an invention because some of the elements of "patentability" aren't jury questions. They can only consider specific elements like obviousness, novelty, usefulness.
At best the interviewer asked an ambiguous question and the foreman gave a reasonable answer. In any case, this would all be obviated if Groklaw and the media were precise in their use of the terminology. The lack of precision in their discussion is really what makes me question the depth of their understanding of the law.
>Not all innovations are patentable. A utility patent claim is invalid if the claimed invention would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the field at the time of invention.
So again, it is reasonable to say that Hogan may have simply misinterpreted the question he was being asked, and that whether he understood the jury instructions cannot be gleaned from this exchange. It is not reasonable to say that Hogan's interpretation of the question was correct and that Groklaw's interpretation was wrong.