Filewrapper® | A patent, trademark, and copyright law blog by MVS - Obviousness

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: New and Useful - April 23, 2013

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 11:45:00-0500

· In K-Tech Telecoms v. Time Warner Cable, the Federal Circuit confirmed that the standard for evaluating the adequacy of complaints alleging direct patent infringement remains Form 18 of the Appendix of Forms to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ("Form 18"). K-Tech filed separate complaints against Direct TV and Time Warner Cable (“TWC”) on the same day, alleging infringement of four patents. Direct TV and TWC each moved to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), asserting the complaint, as filed, lacked sufficient factual specificity to state a cause of action for direct patent infringement. K-Tech sought, and was grated, leave to amend the complaints. After K-Tech filed its amended complaints, TWC and Direct TV again moved to dismiss under 12(b)(6). The district court granted the motions to dismiss, stating that the amended complaints failed to cure the defects with the original complaint, namely that the complaints did not explain why K-Tech believed the defendants were utilizing the methods and products protected by the asserted patents, rather than using other noninfringing methods and products, and therefore failed to meet the standards articulated in Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009). K-Tech appealed the dismissal two weeks before the Federal Circuit issued its decision in R+L Carriers, Inc. v. DriverTech LLC (In re Bill of Lading Transmission & Processing System Patent Litigation), 681 F.3d 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2012). The Federal Circuit consolidated the appeals.

On appeal, K-Tech argued that the amended complaints complied with Form 18 and that the district court applied the incorrect standard. The defendants argued that sufficiency with respect to Form 18 must be interpreted in light of Twombly and Iqbal, and Ninth Circuit law, and that the amended complaints failed to meet either the plain language of Form 18 or the requirements of Twombly and Iqbal. The court relied on its recent decision in R+L Carriers in reasserting the sufficiency of Form 18 for pleading patent infringement, and that to the extent any conflict exists between Form 18 and Twombly/Iqbal, the form controls. Because Form 18 does not include any indication that a patent holder must explain why it believes that a defendant is utilizing the methods and products protected by the asserted patents, rather than using other noninfringing methods and products, such assertions are not required to survive a motion to dismiss. Further, the court held that the failure of K-Tech to identify a particular allegedly infringing device or devices—by name, model number, or otherwise—did not bar K-Tech from filing a complaint in accordance with Form 18, stating, “A defendant cannot shield itself from a complaint for direct infringement by operating in such secrecy that the filing of a complaint itself is impossible. Nor is a defendant immune from a direct infringement claim because he does not make a ‘device’ but, rather, infringes through a system or method.”

· In Lazare Kaplan Int’l, Inc. v. Photoscribe Techs., Inc., the Federal Circuit reversed a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York granting summary judgment of invalidity of two claims of a patent owned by Lazare Kaplan (“LK”), and asserted against Photoscribe Technologies, Inc. and the Gemological Institute of America (collectively “Photoscribe”). The Federal Circuit also reversed the district court’s granting of a motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) filed by Photoscribe that vacated the district court’s prior judgment finding the same claims not invalid. LK sued Photoscribe alleging infringement of Lazare Kaplan’s patent covering systems and methods for microinscribing gemstones. In the ensuing trial, the asserted claims of the LK patent were adjudged not invalid and not infringed, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. LK appealed the judgment of noninfringement, but Photoscribe did not appeal the judgment that the asserted claims were not invalid. On appeal, the Federal Circuit vacated the judgment as based on erroneous claim construction and remanded the case. On remand, the district court retried both the invalidity and infringement issues, and granted Photoscribe’s motions for summary judgment of invalidity and for relief from the prior judgment under Rule 60(b) while denying LK’s motion for summary judgment of infringement. LK again appealed the district court’s ruling.

The Federal Circuit, in the second appeal, reversed the grant of relief under Rule 60(b) and vacated the finding of invalidity, with instructions to the district court to reinstate the original judgment of non-invalidity. The court concluded that the district court erred by allowing Photoscribe to address validity on remand despite its failure to file a cross-appeal from the adverse final judgment on validity in the original trial. The court also concluded that under Second Circuit precedent, Rule 60(b) could not provide the relief granted by the district court. The court then remanded the case again, with instructions for the district court to assess infringement under the construction the Federal Circuit had set forth in the prior appeal.

Judge Dyk dissented in the opinion, arguing that the inconsistency of allowing the patentee to assert infringement based on a broad claim construction while defending against invalidity based on a narrower claim construction should be alleviated by Rule 60(b), notwithstanding the fact that Photoscribe did not appeal the original judgment that the asserted claims were not invalid.

· In Aspex Eyewear, Inc. v. Zenni Optical LLC, the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida holding that Aspex was collaterally estopped from pursuing the suit against Zenni based on earlier litigation between Aspex and Altair Eyewear, Inc. for infringement of the same patents. The previous Altair litigation involved the same three patents, U.S. Patents No. 5,737,054 (the ’054 patent), No. 6,012,811 (the ’811 patent), and No. 6,092,896 (the ’896 patent), with many of the same claims asserted. The district court in the Altair litigation held that the ’811 and ’896 patents were not infringed, and the asserted claim of the ’054 patent was invalid for obviousness. The district court’s rulings were affirmed by the Federal Circuit.

The district court applied the Altair rulings to the issues in the suit against Zenni, holding that the accused products were materially indistinguishable and the previous decisions settled the question of whether the accused Zenni product could infringe the asserted patents, and Aspex was therefore collaterally estopped from bringing suit against Zenni. Aspex appealed the district court’s decision, arguing that the issues at stake were not identical because the claim terms that were construed and applied in the Altair litigation were not the same as the claim terms requiring construction in the Zenni suit. The Federal Circuit concluded that every claim asserted against Zenni contained the same limitation, in the same context, that was previously determined to be dispositive of non-infringement. As a result, even though some of the claims asserted against Zenni were not construed of applied, this did not create a new issue to defeat preclusion. The court further determined that Aspex had a full and fair opportunity to litigate the asserted patents, and the selection of additional claims for litigation and additional terms for construction could not override the holding of non-infringement.

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: New and Useful - April 10, 2013

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:39:00-0500

· In In re Hubbell the Federal Circuit confirmed the rejection of all of the pending claims in an application, filed with Jeffrey Hubbell, Jason Schense, Andreas Zisch, and Heike Hall as named inventors. The invention disclosed in the application was based on research performed while all of the named inventors were at California Institute of Technology (CalTech). As a result, the application is assigned to CalTech. Approximately five years before the CalTech application was filed, Hubbell left CalTech for Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETHZ). A second application filed based on research Hubbell and Schense conducted at ETHZ was filed less than a year before the CalTech application, which is assigned to ETHZ and Zurich University. Aside from Hubbell and Schense, the two patents do not have identical inventive entities, or common owners or assignees. The ETHZ application, which issued as a U.S. patent in 2009, was used as the basis for an obviousness-type double patenting rejection, which was upheld by the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences.

Hubbell appealed the Board decision, arguing that the judicially created obviousness-type double patenting rejection should not apply where an application and a conflicting patent share common inventors, but do not have identical inventive entities, were never commonly owned, and are not subject to a joint research agreement. Alternatively, Hubbell argued that should the court find the obviousness-type double patenting rejection is applicable, he should either be allowed to file a terminal disclaimer as an equitable measure, or the court should employ a two-way obviousness analysis for the rejected claims.

The Federal Circuit affirmed the Board, finding that both the MPEP and Federal Circuit precedent supported application of the obviousness-type double patenting rejection to cases where an application and a conflicting patent have one or more inventors in common but the inventive entities are not identical and the applications were never commonly owned. The court rejected Hubbell’s argument that the case precedent only involved applications that were once commonly owned by the same entity, and did not apply to his application because CalTech never controlled the ownership of the second application. The court based its decision on the underlying concerns over the possibility of harassment by multiple assignees that exists when issued patents lack common ownership—if the claims of the ETHZ application were to issue, a potential infringer could be subject to suit from both CalTech and ETHZ. The court also rejected Hubbell’s argument that a terminal disclaimer should be permitted, based on the fact that there is no statutory basis for doing so. Finally, the court affirmed the Board’s rejection of Hubbell’s request to have the two-way obviousness analysis applied in the case. The court concluded that Hubbell’s application did not meet the requirements to apply the narrow exception to the general rule of the one-way test.

Judge Newman dissented in the opinion, concluding that the majority’s decision is a “flawed ruling on incorrect law.” Specifically, Judge Newman concluded that because there are different inventive entities and that there is not common ownership, obviousness-type double patenting does not apply, but if there indeed is obviousness-type double patenting, then a terminal disclaimer is necessarily available. Judge Newman took issue with the circularity of the majority opinion—a terminal disclaimer is not available because there is not common ownership, yet if there is not common ownership or common inventorship, there cannot be double patenting.

· In Dawson v. Dawson, the Federal Circuit upheld the USPTO Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI) decision determining that an earlier-filed patent application for topically treating and preventing infections of the eye, naming Dr. Chandler Dawson as inventor, had priority over a later-filed patent application, also naming Dr. Chandler Dawson as inventor. The earlier-filed application was submitted by Dr. Dawson and Dr. Lyle Bowman and assigned to InSite Vision Incorporated. The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) filed the later-filed application, without the involvement of Dr. Dawson but naming Dr. Dawson as the sole inventor, for the sole purpose of instituting an interference. The BPAI determined that UCSF had not met its burden to show that Dr. Dawson had conceived of the invention prior to his collaboration with Dr. Bowman.

On appeal to the Federal Circuit, UCSF asserted that the invention embodied in the InSite application was conceived of by Dr. Dawson while he was employed at UCSF and before he joined InSite, and therefore priority of the invention should rest in the UCSF later-filed application. UCSF argued that the conception requirement was met by the time Dr. Dawson made a presentation at a WHO conference, as demonstrated by documents produced from that conference. UCSF argued that even though the conference documents lacked the particular carrier and concentrations recited in the claims, conception was achieved because the documents showed that Dr. Dawson had formed the idea that of topical use of azithromycin would be effective for treating eye infections, and that the subsequent preparation of an effective ointment was merely corroboration of the idea.

The court rejected UCSF’s arguments, reasoning that the WHO documents themselves demonstrated the lack of conception because they constituted “a ‘preliminary’ statement about a ‘possibility’ or ‘potential use,’ alongside a recommendation for continued work and a ‘report back’ in the future.” The court concluded that this fell short of the requirement for a definite and permanent idea of the complete and operative invention, as it is to be applied in practice, as set out in Hybritech Inc. v. Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc. The court further held that UCSF failed to make a sufficient showing with respect to the individual interference counts—the specific concentrations, the suspending agent, or the claimed “amount effective to treat infection in a tissue of the eye.” Finally, the court rejected UCSF’s argument that the BPAI had improperly required a showing of reduction to practice in order to prove conception, concluding that UCSF’s argument was based on an erroneous view of what is needed to prove conception, and holding that “there is a critical difference between conceiving a way to make an idea operative and knowing that a completed invention will work for its intended purpose.”

Judge Reyna dissented in the opinion, concluding that the record was sufficient to demonstrate that Dr. Dawson possessed a definite and permanent idea of his complete and operative invention when he was employed by UCSF, not InSite, and therefore UCSF had demonstrated prior conception.

· In Saffran v. Johnson &Johnson, Dr. Bruce N. Saffran (Saffran) sued Johnson & Johnson and Cordis Corporation (collectively “J&J”), alleging that J&J infringed a number of claims in Saffran’s U.S. patent. The patent involved methods and apparatus that would sequester macromolecules within a defined area, for example a sheet that could be wrapped around a bone fracture that would keep growth factors from diffusing out of the fractured area. The claims of the patent were also drawn to the additional capability of controlled release of a substance incorporated into the apparatus via a “means for release.” The alleged infringing device was a drug-eluting stent comprising a metallic mesh with a microscopic layer of polymer that coats the surface of each strut, the polymer being mixed with a macromolecular drug that would gradually escape through gaps in the polymer matrix. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas held that J&J infringed the patent based on its construction of the terms “device” and “release means”. J&J appealed to the Federal Circuit, arguing that the district courts construction of the two terms was erroneous, and that a proper construction precluded infringement.

On appeal, the Federal Circuit construed the term “device”—as used in the preamble and body of independent claim 1, in the bodies of independent claims 8 and 15, and at least by reference in each of the dependent claims—to mean a continuous sheet and to exclude stents having open mesh holes. The court came to this conclusion based on the prosecution history, during which the patentee sought to distinguish the prior art by asserting that the device used in the invention is a sheet rather than the structure disclosed in the prior art reference. The court confirmed that this corresponded to the disclosure in the specification, and Saffran’s argument that the specification contained alternative embodiments did not persuade the court otherwise.

The court confirmed that “[u]nder § 112, ¶ 6, the question is not what structures a person of ordinary skill in the art would know are capable of performing a given function, but what structures are specifically disclosed and tied to that function in the specification” and “a patentee cannot rely on claim differentiation to broaden a means-plus-function limitation beyond those structures specifically disclosed in the specification.” Thus, the court construed “release means” to only include treating material attached to the substantially impermeable sheet via hydrolyzable bonds or an equivalent thereof.

Based on its construction of “device” and “release means” the court concluded that J&J did not infringe the asserted Saffran patent.

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: Federal Circuit affirms importance of secondary indicia of non-obviousness

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:39:00-0500

The Federal Circuit has recently decided the case of Power Integrations, Inc. v. Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. Power Integrations, Inc. (Power) sued Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. (Fairchild) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, alleging infringement of Power’s four patents covering chargers for mobile phones. In a bifurcated trial, the claims of the patents were found valid, and Fairchild was found to have willfully infringed and assessed $33 million in damages, which was subsequently remitted to $12 million. Fairchild appealed to the Federal Circuit, arguing that the district court’s claim construction of two terms—“frequency variation signal” and “soft start circuit”—was erroneous, and that the district court’s denial of its JMOL of non-obviousness was in error. Power cross-appealed the district court’s determination that the jury’s original damages award of was contrary to law, seeking the original $33 million in damages.

Claim Construction

Fairchild argued on appeal that the district court’s construction of the “frequency variation signal” language improperly imported limitations from the preferred embodiments provided in the patent specification. Fairchild sought a much broader construction, based on what it argued was the plain and ordinary meaning, thereby eliminating any need to turn to the disclosures of the patent. The Federal Circuit concluded that the testimony of Power’s expert that there was no plain and ordinary meaning and in the absence of contrary evidence from Fairchild, the expert opinion was dispositive. The court then confirmed the district court’s reading of the specification, ultimately concluding the construction of “frequency variation signal” was proper.

Fairchild also argued that the district court’s construction of “soft start circuit” as a means-plus-function limitation was erroneous because the claim did not use the term “means” and provided sufficient structure to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6. The court concluded that the recitation of a “circuit” in conjunction with a sufficiently definite structure for performing the identified function was adequate to bar means-plus-function claiming.

Obviousness

With respect to obviousness, Fairchild argued that the Power patents were obvious in light of the prior art, because the only difference compared to the patents-in-suit was that the prior art included erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) absent from the patents and it would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art to simply remove the EPROM. The court found that a person of skill in the art would understand that the EPROM in the prior art was used to achieve a different result than, and was thus unnecessary for, the “frequency-jittering” achieved by the claimed invention of the patent-in-suit. However, the court also found that there was substantial evidence of “objective considerations of non-obviousness”—that is, secondary indicia—to support the jury’s verdict that Power’s patent would not have been obvious to the ordinarily skilled artisan. Specifically, the court focused on:

(1) testimony that the EPROM in the prior art added expense and imposed design constraints as “a good indication that removing the EPROM provided otherwise unexpected benefits”;

(2) testimony that “each and every one of [the prior art] references . . . included [EP]ROMs,”

(3) more than 11 years having passed between issuance of the obviousness reference and the filing of the patent-in-suit without anyone disclosing removing the EPROMs;

(4) testimony that no one in the industry was able to come up with the patented invention;

(5) evidence of commercial success; and significantly (6) Fairchild competed with Power by reverse engineering and copying of Power Integrations’ products.

The court concluded that this evidence was sufficient to support the verdict of non-obviousness.

Damages

The court also considered the “underlying question [of] whether Power Integrations is entitled to compensatory damages for injury caused by infringing activity that occurred outside the territory of the United States.” The court answered that question with an emphatic “No.”

Finally, the court considered whether the district court improperly precluded Power from introducing evidence of price erosion that occurred prior to notifying Fairchild of its infringing activity. The court held that the district court’s decision to exclude the evidence was incorrect because “a price erosion analysis relating to damages arising from post-notice infringement must measure price changes against infringement-free market conditions, and thus the proper starting point of such a price erosion analysis is the date of first infringement.”

The court remanded the case for the district court to construe those claims and determine what effects the new constructions have on validity and infringement, and for a new trial on damages resulting from Fairchild’s direct infringement.

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: New and Useful - April 5, 2013

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 08:42:00-0500

· In Power Integrations, Inc. v. Fairchild Semiconductor International, Inc. the Federal Circuit clarified several points relating to claim construction, determinations of non-obviousness, and calculation of damages. The court confirmed that claiming a “circuit” in conjunction with a sufficiently definite structure for performing the identified function is adequate to bar means-plus-function claiming. The court also confirmed that secondary considerations of non-obviousness could constitute evidence sufficient to support a finding of non-obviousness. Finally, the court held that plaintiffs are not entitled to compensatory damages for injury caused by infringing activity that occurred outside the territory of the United States, regardless of any foreseeability of world-wide damages. A more in-depth analysis of this case will be posted shortly.

· In Rubin v. The General Hospital Corp., Dr. Berish Y. Rubin and Dr. Sylvia L. Anderson (collectively, Rubin) sued The General Hospital Corporation (GH Corp.) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts requesting correction of inventorship of two patents assigned to GH Corp., or alternatively invalidation of the two patents. Rubin alleged that the inventors named in the patents used confidential information—from a manuscript and abstract submitted by Rubin to the American Journal of Human Genetics—to complete the inventions described and claimed in the patents. The district court granted summary judgment to GH Corp.

The Federal Circuit affirmed the grant of summary judgment, reasoning that the dispute was fundamentally a question of priority of the invention. The court ultimately agreed with the district court, concluding that Rubin and Anderson could not be added as joint inventors or be substituted for the named inventors of the patents because they did not meet the requirements of 35 U.S.C. § 116 for joint invention or §256 for correction of inventorship, and that the issue of priority is appropriately determined by PTO interference proceedings.

· The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of N.Y. has handed down its decision in Capitol Records, llc. V. ReDigi Inc. ReDigi considers itself the "world's first and only online marketplace for digital used music." ReDigi's website "invites users to sell their legally acquired digital music files, and buy used digital music from others at a fraction of the price currently available on iTunes." ReDigi's website sold various records belonging to Capitol Records. Capitol Records brought an action against ReDigi, alleging direct copyright infringement, inducement of copyright infringement, contributory and vicarious copyright infringement. In its defense, ReDigi asserted that the “first sale” doctrine precluded a finding of copyright infringement. The district court disagreed, however, holding that the very nature of transferring digital files over the internet constituted copyright infringement because in order to transfer a file, a copy of the file must be made on the transferring computer. Because the “first sale” doctrine does not protect against reproduction of copyrighted material, ReDigi could not successfully assert the defense for the present action.

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: New and Useful - February 21, 2013

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:40:00-0500

· In U.S. Polo Assoc., Inc. v. PRL USA Holdings, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals found that the natural zone of expansion doctrine did not permit the United States Polo Association (“USPA”) to expand its offerings into a line of fragrances and affirmed the district court’s entry of a permanent injunction prohibiting such use. The USPA filed a declaratory judgment to approve use of its Double Horseman mark, accompanied by the words “U.S. POLO ASSN.,” “USPA,” and/or “1890,” in the sale of men’s fragrances. PRL counterclaimed, seeking entry of a permanent injunction precluding such use—which the district court granted. USPA’s argument was centered on the, so called, natural zone of expansion doctrine. USPA argued that its history of selling branded apparel provided it with the right to expand into related markets, i.e., apparel sales give rise to the right to expand into fragrances. The district court gave little weight to USPA’s survey and found that PRL’s survey gave strong evidence of a likelihood of confusion. The Second Circuit found that the district court’s holdings regarding the survey evidence did not abuse its discretion and that the previous litigation and USPA’s history did not support USPA’s argued natural right to expand.

· In Function Media, L.L.C. v. Google, Inc., the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held that the denial of a pre-trial motion for summary judgment of non-infringement is not sufficient to show that the district court delegated claim construction to the jury. Function Media (“FM”) sued Google for infringement of three patents directed at “facilitate[ing] advertising on multiple advertising outlets such as newspapers and websites.” Slip op. at p. 2. The district court held that one patent was invalid for being indefinite “because the specification did not disclose sufficient structure for its sole independent claim’s means plus function term ‘means for transmitting.’” Id. at pp. 5–6 (citations omitted). A jury found the asserted claims in other two patents invalid and not infringed. FM moved for judgment as a matter of law (“JMOL”) that the claims were not invalid, which the district court granted with respect to four claims. This did not alter the jury verdict of non-infringement.

FM appealed on a number of grounds, including an assertion that the district court gave the claim interpretation to the jury. The argument was based on the fact that the district court denied Google’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement. FM argued that the denial of summary judgment demonstrated that there were unresolved issues regarding claim scope, which were subsequently left to the jury rather than construed by the court. The Federal Circuit did not agree that the district court improperly gave the claim interpretation to the jury, the Federal Circuit stated, “We hold that the denial of a pre-trial motion for summary judgment of non-infringement does not, by itself, show that the district court delegated claim construction to the jury. This is especially true where, as here, the jury was instructed to apply the district court's claim constructions.” Id. at pp. 21–22.

· In Cephalon, Inc. v. Watson Pharma., Inc. , the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s holding of invalidity for lack of enablement stating, “Watson failed as a matter of law to show with clear and convincing evidence that Cephalon’s patents require undue experimentation to practice the invention.” Slip op. at p. 2. Throughout the discussion of enablement, the Federal Circuit highlighted that the burden is on Watson to show lack of enablement—undue experimentation—and to do so by clear and convincing evidence. The district court’s analysis was that, “the disclosures lacked teachings directed to formulating and co-administering two separate dosage forms . . . to achieve an effervescent reaction. The lack of disclosure of such methods of co-administration would, according to the court, necessitate undue experimentation to practice the invention.” Id. at p. 11 (citations omitted). Watson merely provided “[u] nsubstantiated statements indicating that experimentation would be ‘difficult’ and ‘complicated.’” Id. at pp. 15–16. The Federal Circuit found that these statements did not meet the standard of clear and convincing evidence to establish undue burden as opposed to reasonable experimentation. As such, the Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s holding of invalidity and remanded.

· The United States Patent and Trademark Office published the final rules and guidelines governing First-Inventor-to-File. (http://www.uspto.gov/news/pr/2013/13-10.jsp) There were two separate Federal Register publications and each is briefly discussed below. A more thorough discussion of each is forthcoming.

o Changes to Implement First Inventor to File Provisions of Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

This publication sets forth the changes that will be necessary to implement the First-Inventor-to-File standards. It addresses changes regarding each of the following:

§ The addition of definitions in the AIA to the rules of practice;

§ The submission of affidavits or declarations regarding: disclosures in priority disputes under the first-to-file standards and prior public disclosures;

§ Standards regarding a U.S. Patent or Published Applications having a prior art effect as of the filing date of a foreign priority application;

§ Elimination of the provisions regarding statutory invention registrations; and

§ Adoption of requirements for nonprovisional applications filed on or after March 16, 2013, that claim priority to or the benefit of the filing date of an application filed prior to March 16, 2013.

o Examination Guidelines for Implementing First Inventor to File Provisions of Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

This publication sets forth the changes the changes to the examination guidelines under the First-Inventor-to-File standard. The publication is also meant to clarify and respond to questions provided during the public comment period regarding whether there is a requirement that the mode of disclosure by an inventor or joint inventor be the same as the mode of disclosure of an intervening disclosure.

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: New and Useful - February 6, 2013

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:39:00-0500

· In Allergan, Inc. v. Barr Labs the Federal Circuit affirmed a decision by the District of Delaware finding that Barr Laboratories, Inc. and Sandoz Inc. had infringed a patent owned by Allergen, Inc., and finding the patent-in-suit valid. Barr and Sandoz each filed abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) for a generic version of the drug covered by the Allergen patent, and both ANDAs asserted that the Allergen patent was invalid or would not be infringed by the manufacture, use, or sale of the new drugs for which the applications were submitted. Allergen sued Barr and Sandoz for infringement, and the suits were consolidated for a bench trial on invalidity and infringement. The district court construed a single disputed claim and determined Allergen had defined the disputed term in such a way in the specification as to cover the Barr and Sandoz products. The district court also declined to adopt the defendants’ arguments for invalidity based on obviousness. The defendants’ obviousness case at trial relied on the testimony of an expert. However, the district court determined that the expert’s testimony was undermined by his lack of credibility, as exposed on cross-examination. As a result, the district court declined to review the prior art references and weigh their import absent the guidance of an expert, and therefore concluded that Barr and Sandoz had failed to prove obviousness. The defendants appealed both the infringement and invalidity determinations, specifically asserting that the district court erred in not reviewing the prior art references and weighing their import notwithstanding the problems with the expert testimony.

On appeal, the Federal Circuit confirmed the district court’s claim construction and infringement determination. The Federal Circuit also confirmed the district court’s determination with respect to the expert witness and the resulting conclusions regarding invalidity and obviousness. Specifically, the court held that the district court did not err in its decision because the case was sufficiently complex to require expert testimony in making the determination of obviousness, and “common sense and logic were not sufficiently illuminating in this case to carry Barr and Sandoz's burden of proving obviousness.”

· In Arkema Inc. v. Honeywell International, Inc. the Federal Circuit reviewed a district court’s denial of declaratory judgment jurisdiction for a case involving two suppliers of an automotive coolant. Arkema Inc. brought a declaratory judgment action seeking judicial determination that its plans to supply automotive coolant to car manufacturers would not infringe Honeywell’s U.S. patents. This declaratory judgment action followed foreign litigation wherein Honeywell asserted European patents coving the same technology against Arkema. After the litigation commenced, Honeywell obtained two additional patents, and Arkema sought to amend its complaint to include declaratory judgment on these two additional patents. The district court denied Arkema’s motion, concluding that there was insufficient case or controversy for the court to exercise declaratory judgment jurisdiction. The district court then certified for appeal its order denying Arkema’s motion.

The Federal Circuit reversed the district court, addressing each of the district court’s rationales for declining jurisdiction in turn. In particular, the Federal Circuit held that the district court’s reliance on Arris Grp., Inc. v. British Telecommc’ns PLC was misplaced because while acts of direct infringement by a customer are sufficient to support DJ action by a supplier, they are not necessary. Further, the appellate court concluded that “[t]here is no requirement that Arkema identify the particular manufacturers that will purchase the [automotive coolant] or the particular automobile purchasers who will purchase the cars from the manufacturers, or the particular dates on which this will occur.” The Federal Circuit instead concluded that the basis for Arkema’s declaratory judgment jurisdiction was formed by the foreign litigation of the same technology along with contracts entered into by Arkema with customers for the supply of the automotive coolant. The case was remanded for reconsideration.

· In Accent Packaging, Inc. v. Leggett & Platt, Inc. the Federal Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas for the alleged infringer, Leggett & Platt. The district court granted summary judgment of non-infringement based on it construction of the terms “each” and “a respective one” within the phrase “with each of the operator bodies being operably coupled with a respective one of said gripper, knotter, cutting element and cover.” The district court construed the terms to mean that there could only be a single function for a single “operator body,” and as a result the accused device could not infringe the claims because it used operator bodies with multiple functions. Accent appealed the grant of summary judgment, challenging the district court’s claim construction.

The Federal Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment, concluding that the district court improperly construed the terms at issue. The appellate court, conducting its own de novo claim construction, determined that the narrow construction asserted by Accent was improper because it excluded the preferred embodiment disclosed in the specification. The court held that the preferred embodiment featured an elongated operator body that is operably coupled to one or more operator elements, and because “a claim interpretation that excludes a preferred embodiment from the scope of the claim is rarely, if ever, correct” (On-Line Techs., Inc. v. Bodenseewerk Perkin-Elmer GmbH, 386 F.3d 1133, 1138 (Fed. Cir. 2004)), the district court’s claim construction doing just that was erroneous. Based on the Federal Circuit’s own claim construction, it remanded the case and ordered the district court to grant summary judgment of infringement to Accent. A more in depth analysis of this case will be posted shortly.

MVS Filewrapper® Blog: New and Useful - January 31, 2013

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 15:24:00-0500

· In Soverain Software LLC v. Newegg Inc. the Federal Circuit vacated in part and reversed in part an Eastern District of Texas decision finding Newegg Inc. liable for infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,715,314, 5,909,492, and 7,272,639, all relating to electronic commerce. The Federal Circuit offered clarifying insight on the obviousness doctrine. The background facts are as follows: Soverain Software purchased three software patents through bankruptcy proceedings and then proceeded to sue seven different entities for infringing the patents. Six of the defendants settled and entered paid up license agreements with Soverain. The seventh defendant, Newegg, refused to settle and argued that the asserted patents are all invalid and even if valid, Newegg’s system is different and non-infringing. At trial, the district court refused to permit Newegg to present its obviousness argument to the jury and ruled that the patents were valid as a matter of law. The jury found that Newegg had infringed two of the patents but not the third; the district court, however, entered judgment as a matter of law that Newegg infringed the third patent. Newegg appealed and the Federal Circuit found all three patents obvious. The federal circuit had three major discussion points: (1) each element of the disputed claims was found in the prior art, (2) combining those elements would be obvious to one of skill in the art, and (3) licenses entered in settlement to a lawsuit do not constitute evidence of commercial success.

· In Rexnord Industries, LLC v. Kappos the Federal Circuit reversed a BPAI decision holding claims for a mechanical conveyor belt patentable. The patent in question was asserted by Habasit Belting, Inc. against Rexnord Industries in an infringement suit in Delaware district court. Rexnord filed a request for inter partes reexamination. The examiner in the reexamination found all of the claims to be unpatentable for anticipation or obviousness. Habasit appealed the examiner’s findings, and the BPAI reversed, concluding that the claims of the patent were not anticipated by any of the references cited in the reexamination, and were unobvious over the cited references. Rexnord appealed the BPAI decision to the Federal Circuit, arguing that the BPAI erroneously refused to review all of the arguments that Rexnord had presented as grounds for unpatentability. The PTO countered that the BPAI only needed to consider the issue raised by Habasit on appeal, and had no obligation to consider other grounds that had been presented during reexamination, relying on a BPAI rule that “bars the presentation of new arguments outside appellant’s opening brief.” The Federal Circuit noted that Rexnord was not the appellant before the BPAI since Habasit appealed the examiner’s decision, and concluded that the alternative bases for obviousness raised in the reexamination were properly raised on appeal to the Federal Circuit because they were fully raised in the reexamination and were not an issue for patentability until after the Board reversed the examiner. The court then found the claims obvious on these additional grounds.

· In Hall v. Bed Bath & Beyond, the Federal Circuit affirmed a Southern District of New Your district court’s dismissal of counts against Bed Bath & Beyond (BB&B) executives and counterclaims filed by BB&B, but concluded that the district court’s dismissal of Hall’s design patent infringement, unfair competition, and misappropriation claims for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). BB&B argued in its motion to dismiss, and the district court agreed, that the complaint was insufficient because if failed to include any claim construction, but the Federal Circuit held the complaint met the requirements for pleading design patent infringement previously set out by the court in Phonometrics, Inc. v. Hospitality Franchise Systems, Inc. Specifically, the court found the complaint (i) alleged ownership of the patent, (ii) named each defendant, (iii) cited the patent that was allegedly infringed, (iv) stated the means by which the defendant allegedly infringed, and (v) pointed to the sections of the patent law invoked, and in doing so met its burden to withstand a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), Twombly and Iqbal.

· In LG Display Co. v. Obayashi Seikou Co., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10785 (D.D.C. 2013) The district court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling in a case between LG and Obayashi Seikou Co., LTD that goes back nearly a decade, centering on LG’s allegations that a former employee stole proprietary information and passed it along to Obayashi Seikou Co., who then obtained several patents on the technology. Prior to the U.S. litigation, the parties had entered into a settlement agreement, and after the settlement failed, litigated the settlement agreement in the Korean courts. In the Korean litigation LG secured a judgment from Korea’s highest court holding that the settlement agreement was valid, and the defendants were required to transfer their patents to LG, under the terms of the agreement. LG then filed suit in the District of Columbia seeking recognition of the Korean judgment, as well as claiming misappropriation of trade secrets, conversion, and unjust enrichment. The district court granted in part LG’s motion for partial summary judgment, recognizing the Korean judgment, but concluded that ownership of two related patents involved factual disputes and was not ready for summary judgment.

Federal Circuit Addresses Obviousness Rationales and Counterarguments

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:53:00-0500

Recently, the Federal Circuit issued its opinion in CW Zumbiel v. Kappos. The Federal Circuit affirmed the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences’ (“BPAI”) finding that multiple claims in U.S. Patent No. 6,715,639 (“the ’639 patent”) were obvious and therefore invalid. The ’639 patent is directed to a “carton with an improved dispenser.” The carton is for holding cans or bottles and the improved dispenser is a flap that permits dispensing of the cans or bottles without compromising the structure of the carton so that the remaining cans or bottles are secure within the container. The ’639 patent issued to Graphic Packaging International, Inc. (“Graphic”). Upon issuance CW Zumbiel Co., Inc. (“Zumbiel”) challenged the validity of the ’639 patent by instituting an inter partes reexamination. During the inter partes reexamination, the Examiner rejected multiple claims for obviousness, while maintaining the patentability of other claims. Graphic appealed the Examiner’s rejections to the BPAI, which subsequently affirmed the patentability of some claims and the rejection of the other claims based on obviousness over Ellis, U.S. Patent No. 3,178242, in view of German Gebrauchsmuster No. G85 14718.4. Zumbiel appealed the BPAI’s finding that some claims were patentable and Graphic cross-appealed the finding that other claims were obvious.

One limitation that was found obvious was the “finger-flap,” which opens across the top panel of the carton. Graphic argued that the limitation would not be obvious over the combination of references because they open in different ways—Ellis is laid on its side and opens on the back while the German patent opens from the top. The Federal Circuit affirmed the BPAI’s finding of obviousness quoting the BPAI, which stated, “‘providing the finger opening on the top wall of the carton would be a predictable variation that enhances user convenience, as evidenced by German ’718, and is within the skill of a person of ordinary skill in the art.’”

Another limitation that was found obvious was the “fold-line” limitation, which provides a fold-line so that the flap can be folded back to cover the opening. Graphic argued that the German reference did not teach such a flap, but rather was directed to a container allowing simultaneous removal and replacement of bottles through an opening that could either be a perforated line or a fold line. The Federal Circuit affirmed the BPAI’s finding that the fold-line limitation was obvious over the cited references as the combination teaches that a tear-line can be replaced by a fold-line, which would be obvious to one of skill in the art.

Zumbiel disputed the BPAI’s determination that claim 2 was not obvious. Claim 2 was directed to the placement of the finger-flap between the first and second cans. Zumbiel argued that the placement would have been obvious in light of the combination of references. The Federal Circuit, however, affirmed the BPAI’s finding that the prior art reference at issue—Palmer, U.S. Patent No. 2,718,301—only taught where to place a handle formed by the perforated tear-line on the container, not where to place perforation for an opening. Moreover, the Federal Circuit noted that one of the references actually taught away from the placement of the tear-line in claim 2. Therefore, the combination of references could not render claim 2 obvious.

Ultimately the Federal Circuit affirmed the BPAI’s findings in whole. The opinion demonstrates examples teaching away, predictable variations in light of the knowledge of one skilled in the art of the invention, and a proper combination of references.

Dissent

Judge Prost dissented in part arguing that claim 2 should have been found obvious based in light of the KSR decision and the applicability of common sense in the obviousness determination. The dissent, quite candidly, sets out the invention of the ’639 invention, its common sense understanding, and the teachings of the prior art that had existed for “almost fifty years.” Judge Prost took issue with the finding that placement of the tear-line was unobvious:

The secret lies in the proper positioning of the tear line. That is, according to the Board, ordinary box makers would not have put the tear line between the first two cans in the top row. Where else could have they put it? There are just four other options: (1) above the first can, (2) above the second can, (3) in front of the first can, (4) behind the second can. The first two alternatives are just offensive to common sense: With the cans right below, there would be no room to push the flap through (the flap is positioned at the center of the tear line). The third and fourth options are not quite as illogical, but even without expertise in box making, one may intuit that they make awkward designs (the third opens too little, the fourth too much). More importantly, however, whether some of the alternatives would work just as well or not, the patentee’s choice of tear-line-placement involves no more than the exercise of common sense . . . .

As such, Judge Prost concludes that the invention of claim 2 would have been obvious, particularly when viewed in light of the prior art.

The full text of the Federal Circuit opinion is available here.

New and Useful - Janurary 14, 2013

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 09:52:00-0500

· The Supreme Court handed down its decision in Already, LLC v. Nike, Inc. The Court held that Nike’s covenant not to sue Alreadyfor alleged infringement of Nike’s AIR FORCE 1 trademark—entered into after Nike had filed suit and Already had filed a counterclaim challenging the mark’s validity—rendered both Nike’s claims and Already’s counterclaims moot. The Court held that because Already failed to show that it engages in or has sufficiently concrete plans to engage in activities that would arguably infringe Nike’s trademark yet not be covered by the covenant not to sue, its claims could not survive Nike’s motion to dismiss.

· The USPTO has issued a Request for Comments and Notice of Roundtable Events for Partnership for Enhancement of Quality of Software-Related Patents. The notice provides two separate roundtable events with the same agendas, one occurring in Silicon Valley on Tuesday February 12, 2013, beginning at 9 a.m. and the second occurring in New York City on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 beginning at 9 a.m. (both local time). Topics on the agenda include: (1) how to improve clarity of claim boundaries that define the scope of patent protection for claims that use functional language; (2) identification of additional topics for future discussion by the Software Partnership; and (3) opportunity for oral presentations on the Request for Comments on Preparation of Patent Applications. Written comments are requested in response to the first two discussion topics. Written comments on the third discussion topic must be submitted as directed in the forthcoming Request for Comments on Preparation of Patent Applications. Registration for the events is requested by February 4, 2013. For additional information see the official notice.

· The USPTO has also extended a pilot program allowing an applicant to request a twelve-month time period to pay the search fee, the examination fee, any excess claim fees, and the surcharge (for the late submission of the search fee and the examination fee) in a nonprovisional application, under specific conditions. The program has been extended until December 31, 2013, with the possibility of further extension. To qualify, the applicant must satisfy the following conditions: (1) Applicant must submit a certification and request to participate in the Extended Missing Parts Pilot Program with the nonprovisional application on filing, (2) the application must be a nonprovisional utility or plant application filed within the duration of the pilot program; (3) the nonprovisional application must directly claim the benefit under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) and 37 CFR 1.78 of a prior provisional application filed within the previous twelve months (the specific reference to the provisional application must be in an application data sheet); and (4) applicant must not have filed a nonpublication request. Additional information is available here.

· The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part and remanded in part a decision by the Southern District of New York finding willful infringement on the part of a retailer for infringing the Fendi trademark by selling allegedly counterfeit Fendi-branded products. The district court awarded $12,324,062.66 in trebled damages, prejudgment interest, costs, and attorneys' fees, including disgorgement of Ashley Reed's based on a finding of willful infringement. The Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s finding of infringement and willfulness, but remanded for clarification of the period of disgorgement.

· The Federal Circuit has issued a new opinion on determining obviousness. A more thourough examination of the dicision in The C.W. Zumbiel Company, Inc. v. Kappos will be available soon here at Filewrapper.

Another Billion Dollar Patent Verdict

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 10:38:00-0500

Another billion dollar verdict has been handed out in a patent case. Read the verdict in Carnegie Mellon University v. Marvell Technology Group, LTD. here. This latest case continues a string of billion dollar verdicts highlighted by Jonathan Kennedy in the latest edition of MVS Briefs.

Carnegie Mellon brought suit alleging infringement of two of its patents, Patent No. 6,201,839 and Patent No. 6,438,180, relating to integrated circuits for computer memory systems. Marvell asserted that it did not infringe the patents, and in the alternative, the patents were invalid because they were anticipated or rendered obvious by the prior art.

The jury in the case found for Carnegie Mellon on all counts of infringement—including indirect infringement—and invalidity. In addition to the large damages award, the jury determined that Marvell had engaged in willful infringement of two patents held by Carnegie Mellon because Marvell knew of the asserted patents before the lawsuit, had no reasonable defense for its actions, and knew or should have known that its actions would infringe the asserted patents. The determination of willfulness by the jury could allow the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Norra Barry Fischer, to triple the damages award.

A final judgment in the case is expected in May 2013, pending post-trial motions from both sides. Marvell has already announced its intent to appeal the verdict should its post-trial motions prove unsuccessful.

Common sense held sufficient to invalidate claims as obvious on summary judgment

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:23:00-0500

If anyone needed further proof that patents are more easily held obvious after KSR, look no further. The Federal Circuit held that a patent directed to a method of email marketing with improved efficiency was obvious based on the "common sense" of one in the art.

The claimed method had four steps, the fourth of which was (as described by the court) repeating the first three steps until a minimum threshold of emails were successfully received. It was undisputed that the first three steps were known in the art and that the final step was not in the prior art. The district court held the addition of the final step "would be obvious to virtually anyone."

The Federal Circuit agreed. After citing the relevant passages from KSR regarding common sense, the court observed:

[W]hile an analysis of obviousness always depends on evidence that supports the required Graham factual findings, it also may include recourse to logic, judgment, and common sense available to the person of ordinary skill that do not necessarily require explication in any reference or expert opinion.

The court did reiterate that the analysis underlying the application of common sense "must be made explicit" in order to facilitate review, but held the district court had done so here. The court observed that if the relevant technology were complex, expert opinions may be required. However, in this case the level of ordinary skill in the art was a high school education and limited experience. Of course, the court also held that even if the expert witness testimony was considered, it also confirmed the conclusion of obviousness. Accordingly, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment.

More detail of Perfect Web Techs., Inc. v. InfoUSA, Inc. after the jump.

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Dependent claim can't be obvious when indepdendent claim is not; verdict vacated as inconsistent

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:10:00-0500

In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part a district court's decision regarding obviousness, holding the defendant was not entitled to summary judgment that the asserted claims were invalid for obviousness. The court vacated the district court's entry of judgment of an inconsistent jury verdict of obviousness: the jury held a dependent claim obvious but the independent claim from which it depends not obvious. The court stated that such a result reflects an "irreconcilable inconsistency" and thus a new trial on obviousness must be granted.

The court also addressed the question of incorporation by reference. The defendant argued the claims were anticipated based on a prior art patent that made reference to another patent for one of the relevant limitations. The district court held the incorporation by reference was ineffective and excluded expert testimony regarding the "combined" prior art. The Federal Circuit reversed, holding the incorporation by reference was sufficiently specific to be successful, and remanded the issue of anticipation to the district court for redetermination.

More on Callaway Golf Co. v. Acushnet Co. after the jump.

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Federal Circuit clarifies how to analyze likelihood of success at preliminary injunction stage

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:52:00-0500

The Federal Circuit Wednesday affirmed a district court's denial of preliminary injunction to the plaintiffs (a patentee and its licensee with a right to enforce the patent) in a design patent case. The district court held there was a substantial question regarding the validity of the patent that was not shown to lack substantial merit, and therefore the plaintiffs were not likely to succeed on the merits.

On appeal, the Federal Circuit took the opportunity to clarity how district courts should assess likelihood of success in patent cases, particularly when invalidity is raised in response to the motion for preliminary injunction. Specifically, the court observed:

[W]hen analyzing the likelihood of success factor, the trial court, after considering all the evidence available at this early stage of the litigation, must determine whether it is more likely than not that the challenger will be able to prove at trial, by clear and convincing evidence, that the patent is invalid. We reiterate that the "clear and convincing" standard regarding the challenger's evidence applies only at trial on the merits, not at the preliminary injunction stage. The fact that, at trial on the merits, the proof of invalidity will require clear and convincing evidence is a consideration for the judge to take into account in assessing the challenger's case at the preliminary injunction stage; it is not an evidentiary burden to be met preliminarily by the challenger.
If the trial court is persuaded, then it follows that the patentee by definition has not been able to show a likelihood of success at trial on the merits of the validity issue, at least not at this stage. This decision process, which requires the court to assess the potential of a "clear and convincing" showing in the future, but in terms of what is "more likely than not" presently, rests initially in the capable hands and sound judgment of the trial court.

Applying this standard, the Federal Circuit determined the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the injunction.

More detail of Titan Tire Corp. v. Case New Holland, Inc. after the jump.

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When compounds in a class have divergent properties, positional isomer not obvious

Mon, 18 May 2009 09:00:00-0500

In a decision Wednesday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's determination that the asserted claims in a pharmaceutical patent were not proven obvious. As is common in pharmaceutical cases, the defendant filed an ANDA asserting the patent covering the compound and its use was invalid, and in the ensuing infringement suit admitted its proposed generic drug met the claim limitations. The district court specifically held the prior art did not suggest the closes prior art compound as a potential "lead compound," as the various members of the class of compounds had unpredictable properties rendering the claimed compound's beneficial properties unexpected, and secondary considerations of commercial success and long-felt need confirmed the defendant's failure to prove the claims obvious. The district court also rejected a separate argument of obviousness-type double patenting based on an expired patent also owned by the patentee.

The Federal Circuit affirmed. Under Takeda, the court observed obviousness for structurally similar chemical compounds depends on one of ordinary skill in the art selecting the asserted prior art compound as the "lead compound," or the starting point for further experimentation. Here, the court did not reach the question, as it determined that even if the closest prior art compound was selected, the defendant has not shown obviousness. There was simply no reason shown why one of ordinary skill in the art would modify even the closest compound to produce the claimed compound (a positional isomer) given the inherent unpredictability of the physical-chemical, biological, and therapeutic characteristics of the individual compounds in the class. The court also cited its recent Kubin decision, observing there was "no credible evidence that the structural modification was routine." Further, there was evidence of both commercial success ($2.7 billion in sales) and long-felt need. As a result, the court affirmed the district court's determination that the claims had not been proven obvious.

Similarly, the court affirmed the finding of no obviousness-type double patenting. Here, the prior art patent claimed intermittent dosing of compounds in the same class as the claimed compound (to compensate for side effects), whereas the asserted claims are directed to the compound itself (both isolated and in a pharmaceutical composition) and using the compound to treat osteoporosis. There was no clear and convincing evidence of overlap between the patents, so there was no double patenting.

More detail of Procter & Gamble Co. v. Teva Pharms. USA, Inc. after the jump.

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Use of court-appointed expert not abuse of discretion, even when jury told of neutrality

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 16:13:00-0500

In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit held it was not an abuse of discretion for a district court to retain an independent expert pursuant to Rule 706 to assist the jury in understanding the technology relating to a complicated electrical patent. The district court was frustrated with the technology, and observed "the notion that a jury is going to understand [the technical details], to me, is foolishness." The district court judge was concerned the jury would make a decision for reasons other than the scientific merits, and invoked Rule 706 to have a neutral expert testify at trial. The judge also informed the jury that the expert had been retained by neither party, but further stated they should give him no additional weight because of this. The jury held two claims infringed under the doctrine of equivalents, but all asserted claims invalid as obvious.

The Federal Circuit affirmed. The court held the appointment of an independent expert and the disclosure of his independence was not an abuse of discretion. This was based in part on the fact that the jury's findings did not exactly track the independent expert's testimony: the jury held more claims infringed and more claims obvious compared to the expert's testimony. While the court did state the disclosure of the expert's neutrality to the jury "trouble[d] this court to some extent," in the Ninth Circuit district courts have "wide latitude" to make such appointments.

On the merits, the court held substantial evidence supported the jury's implicit factual finding underlying its obviousness determination, namely all elements of the asserted claims were present in the prior art, based on the testimony of the defendant's expert and the neutral expert.

More detail of Monolithic Power Sys., Inc. v. O2 Micro Int'l Ltd. after the jump.

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