BackgroundUntil 2006, district courts routinely granted permanent injunctions, along with damages, to prevailing patent owners after trial on the grounds that irreparable harm was presumed. Although eBay and its progeny involved permanent injunctions, “we see no reason to depart from their holdings in the preliminary injunction context.” In addition, in Socket Solutions, the panelconfirmed that claim construction is critical in the context of a preliminary injunction decision. 5), the Federal Circuit construed it to have its plain and ordinary meaning as understood by a skilled artisan. First, to the extent any uncertainty existed, the Federal Circuit put it to rest by expressly holding that eBay’s abolition of the old presumption of irreparable harm in patent infringement cases applies equally to permanent and preliminary injunction proceedings.