New and Useful – April 23, 2013 · InK-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 […] Continue Reading →
Patented method of traffic detection not infringed In an opinion released in July last year, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a ruling in the case of Wavetronix v. EIS Electronic Integrated Systems. This case involved a traffic monitoring system that had been patented by Wavetronix, and EIS had received summary judgment for noninfringement of the Wavetronix patent at […] Continue Reading →
Estoppel applies to all added limitations in claims, including when present in unamended claims In a decision Friday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's grant of summary of no literal infringement and that prosecution history estoppel barred application of the doctrine of equivalents. During prosecution of the patent, a total of three limitations from two different dependent claims were added to the asserted claim in separate amendments, although […] Continue Reading →
Reliance on initial expert for rebuttal sufficient to defeat summary judgment In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit reversed grants of summary judgment in favor of both parties. The defendant was granted summary judgment of noninfringement, and the plaintiff (and counterclaim defendant) was granted summary judgment on the grounds of no marking under 35 U.S.C. § 287. Both parties appealed. The Federal Circuit determined there was […] Continue Reading →
Irreparable harm to exclusive licensee cannot support injunction; willfulness vacated post-Seagate In a decision Monday, the Federal Circuit addressed a range of issues and ultimately affirmed a district court's denial of injunctive relief and, in light of the intervening Seagate decision, vacated and remanded the case for reconsideration regarding willfulness. The court also affirmed the district court's finding of no invalidity and the infringement of some […] Continue Reading →
Claim construction and finding of noninfringement affirmed In a decision Wednesday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's claim construction and grant of summary judgment of non-infringement. The patent holder's proposed claim interpretation relied heavily on means-plus-function language and an embodiment in the specification not covered by the claim construction. The Federal Circuit found that the failure to use clear "means-plus-function language" […] Continue Reading →
Claim construction and noninfringement affirmed on one patent, vacated on another In a decision last week, the Federal Circuit vacated a district court's grant of summary judgment of noninfringement of one patent and affirmed summary judgment of noninfringement of another. The determinations turned on the construction of one claim element in each patent.In the first patent, the court held that there was sufficient disclosure in the […] Continue Reading →
District court’s claim construction too narrow, but noninfringement finding affirmed anyway In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit held that a district court construed a claim limitation too narrowly. However, even under the broader construction, summary judgment was still appropriate, because there was no genuine issue of fact that the accused method still did not practice that element, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. […] Continue Reading →
Patentee could not rebut presumption of estoppel; noninfringement finding affirmed In a decision Friday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court decision holding that application of the doctrine of equivalents was barred as the Festo presumptions had not been rebutted. The court noted that the patentee did not show that the alleged equivalent was unforeseeable at the time of making the narrowing amendment (which was […] Continue Reading →