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[dayzman]

Hi,

I'm drafting a patent and have a question about the language.

Is there a difference in meaning between

"the coupons are only redeemable by the issuer for goods or services provided by X"
vs
"the coupons are redeemable only by the issuer for goods or services provided by X"?

Does the former mean that the coupons can't even be resold, refunded, etc. as they are only redeemable by the issuer for goods and services provided by X?
Does the latter mean that the coupons cannot be redeemed by non-issuer?

Thanks!

[still_learnin]

Don't know of any special rule of claim construction that applies here, just grammar. As I understand it, the English grammar says that the qualifier is attached to the closest word / phrase. 

Which leads to the following conclusions:

"the coupons are only redeemable by the issuer for goods or services provided by X"

Coupons can'be resold, refunded, etc.

"the coupons are redeemable only by the issuer for goods or services provided by X"?

Coupons cannot be redeemed by non-issuer.