Justia Patents Opinion Summaries

RTI owns patents relating to the automatic routing of telephone calls based upon cost. Aware of infringement by Speakeasy, a telecommunications company, RTI offered to release Speakeasy from liability in exchange for a one-time payment under RTI’s tiered pricing structure. In 2007, the companies entered a “Covenant Not to Sue” with a payment of $475,000 to RTI, and a provision barring Speakeasy from challenging, or assisting others in challenging, the validity of the patents. The agreement defined “Speakeasy” to include both Speakeasy and Best Buy, which had previously announced plans to acquire Speakeasy. Three years later, Best Buy announced a plan to sell Speakeasy and merge it into Covad. RTI again learned of an infringement and notified Covad. Covad sought a declaratory judgment that the patents were invalid. The action was later dismissed voluntarily. RTI initiated the present lawsuit. The district court dismissed, holding that the doctrine of licensee estoppel, under which a licensee of intellectual property “effectively recognizes the validity of that property and is estopped from contesting its validity,” is unenforceable in the context of challenges to patents, and that the no-challenge clause was contrary to the public interest in litigating the validity of patents. The Second Circuit affirmed. View "Rates Tech. Inc. v. Speakeasy, Inc." on Justia Law

In 2006 the inventor submitted a utility patent application entitled “Crossbar Arithmetic Processor,” disclosing a computing device for processes such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division using nanoscale materials in a crossbar array. The examiner rejected all claims. The Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences affirmed under 35 U.S.C. 103(a). The Federal Circuit affirmed. Substantial evidence supports the conclusion that the claimed invention would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art. View "In re: Mouttet" on Justia Law

Wrigley and Cadbury compete in selling chewing gum that provides a cooling sensation. Historically, gum makers have achieved that sensation with menthol. Menthol has disadvantages, including a strong peppermint flavor and bitterness in high concentrations. WS-3 and WS-23 are alternative coolants: Cadbury owns the 893 patent, claiming a combination of menthol with WS-3. Wrigley owns the 233 patent, claiming menthol with WS-23. After Cadbury introduced its WS-3/menthol gum, Wrigley introduced a gum with menthol and WS-23. Cadbury then reformulated its products. Cadbury’s reformulated gum contained both WS-23 and menthol. Wrigley sued, accusing Cadbury of infringing the 233 patent. Cadbury counterclaimed, accusing Wrigley of infringing the 893 patent. The district court granted Wrigley summary judgment of noninfringement. Addressing Cadbury’s summary judgment motion, the district court concluded that claim 34 of the 233 patent was invalid for anticipation and obviousness. The Federal Circuit affirmed. The inventors were on notice of potential interchangeability of WS-23 and WS-3, but drafted claims of the 893 patent narrowly to recite certain N-substituted-p-menthane carboxamides, not a broader category of carboxamides that would include WS-23. The trial court properly held that Cadbury could not expand the coverage of its patent to include WS-23 through the doctrine of equivalents. View "Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. v. Cadbury Adams USA, LLC" on Justia Law

R+L, owns a patent relating to the less-than-a-load trucking industry and uses the patented method in its business. Carriers in the industry pick up freight from several different customers, often destined for different locations around the country. Freight is taken to a terminal where it is unloaded from the truck and consolidated with other freight headed in the same direction, then reloaded. The patent claims a method that “automates the process of receiving transportation documentation and producing advance loading manifests therefrom to optimize load planning and dynamic product shipment and delivery control.” The patented method enables shipping documents to be sent directly from the truck driver to a common point, such as a terminal, so billing and load planning can occur while the driver is en route with the freight. In 2008, R+L sent cease-and-desist letters to defendants, suspecting infringement. Defendants sought declaratory judgments of invalidity and non-infringement; R+L counterclaimed. The district court ruled against R+L. The Federal Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part. R+L failed to state a claim of contributory infringement, but adequately stated a claim of induced infringement View "R&L Carriers, Inc. v. Drivertech, LLC" on Justia Law

Harari's 880 application, filed in 1999, is a continuation of the 708 application, which was a continuation of the 838 application, which was a divisional of the 566 application, filed in 1989 on the same day as Harari's 579 application. An incorporation statement from the 566 application, referring to copending applications, was copied into the subsequent applications. The 880 application included a photocopy of 566, a transmittal sheet identifying the filing as a continuation, and a preliminary amendment. During interference proceedings, Hollmer argued that Harari's claims were unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. 112, because the 579 application was not properly identified in the 880 application because 579 was not filed "on the same day" as the 880 application. The Board agreed. On remand, the Board found that continuity between the 566 and 880 applications was maintained; the intervening 838 and 768 applications contain incorporation language copied from the 566 application but, unlike the 880 application, were never amended to refer to 579 by serial number and filing date. The Board found that a reasonable examiner would have had access to all filing papers, including transmittal sheets and would have understood that the incorporation language in those applications referred to the 579 application. The Federal Circuit reversed. View "Hollmer v. Harari" on Justia Law

The patents involve topical compositions for protecting pets from fleas and ticks. The 940 patent, now expired, claimed fipronil for pest control by direct toxicity. Merial, as exclusive licensee, developed compositions sold as Frontline. Merial also devised compositions, covered by the 329 patent, combining fipronil with an insect growth regulator, sold as Frontline Plus, the leading flea and tick treatment. In 2007 Merial sued Cipla and other internet retailers, alleging infringement. No defendant responded. The district court found that the patents were not invalid, that Cipla had infringed each patent, and entered a permanent injunction barring Cipla from directly or indirectly infringing the patents. In 2008 Cipla filed an informal communication, not intended to constitute an appearance, denying infringing or having any presence in the U.S., and requesting dismissal. The district court entered final judgment. Velcera, led by former Merial executives, engaged with Cipla to develop, test, manufacture, and distribute products to compete with Merial. Both Velcera and Cipla entered into development and supply agreements with various companies. In 2011, they began selling PetArmor Plus. The district court held Velcera and Cipla in contempt. The Federal Circuit affirmed, rejecting challenges to jurisdiction and to the contempt order’s application to Velcera. View "Merial, Ltd. v. Cipla, Ltd." on Justia Law

The 148 patent claims a structure for encasing meat products. It describes prior art, which use netting that allows meat to bulge between strands and produce a desirable checkerboard pattern on the meat’s surface, but causes difficulty in peeling netting off the cooked meat. Prior art tried to solve this problem by using a separate layer of collagen film, or stockinette; this required a two-step stuffing process that was labor intensive and expensive. The 148 patent integrates a stockinette into a netting to make a new kind of meat encasement. The integrated stockinette has more stretching ability than the netting and solves the adherence problem without the two-step stuffing process while allowing some bulging to create the grid-like pattern on the meat. Mintz asserts that the 148 patent covers its Jif-Pak knitted meat encasement products. PCM, previously a distributor of Mintz’s Jif-Pak products, now competes with Mintz. Mintz accused PCM’s bubble netting, collagen replacement, and cubic netting product lines of infringement. The district court ruled in favor of PCM. The Federal Circuit affirmed the non-infringement determination and vacated the invalidity holding. With respect to determining obviousness, entirely omitting meat encasement art led the validity search astray View "Mintz v. Dietz & Watson" on Justia Law

The patent is entitled “Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Molded Article for Artificial Joints and Method of Preparing the Same.” The examiner rejected a reissue application as obvious, finding that it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use cross-linked UHMWPE in the method of making the UHMWPE products disclosed by a reference, given the teaching of another reference that cross-linking prior to compression deformation results in improved transparency, an increased melting point, and excellent dimensional stability. The examiner further found that one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success in obtaining those enhanced properties by combining the techniques taught by the two references. The Board affirmed, rejecting an argument that there would have been no motivation to combine the teachings because the references are directed to different products. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "In Re: Hyon" on Justia Law

Baxter's patent relates to hemodialysis machines that can function in place of a human kidney to cleanse the blood of toxins using a solution called a dialysate. The patent, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Kidney Dialysis," discloses and claims a hemodialysis machine integrated with a touch screen user interface that allows an operator to monitor and control a number of parameters. To ensure that the process does not filter essential nutrients from the blood, a hemodialysis machine must facilitate the monitoring and control of a number of parameters. In parallel with litigation concerning the patent, the U.S. PTO reexamined and rejected claims in the patent as obvious, 35 U.S.C. 103. The Federal Circuit affirmed. View "In Re Baxter Int'l, Inc." on Justia Law

Apple claimed that Samsung smartphones, the Galaxy S and the Infuse, and its Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet infringed four Apple patents. Apple sought a preliminary injunction to block importation and U.S. sales. The district court denied the motion with respect to each device and all asserted patents. As to one patent, the court found that Apple failed to show likelihood of success on the merits because the patented design did not cover functional features and the design aspect was likely anticipated. As to others, the court held that Apple failed to show that it would likely suffer irreparable harm from continuing infringement while the case was pending, rejecting a claim of erosion of design distinctiveness. The court concluded that the absence of a nexus between the claimed design and the loss of market share, coupled with delay in seeking an injunction, undercut a claim of irreparable harm. With respect to a patent for the tablet computer, the court found that the design was not dictated by functionality and may have been obvious. The Federal Circuit affirmed with respect to three patents. With respect to the fourth, the court vacated, holding that the district court erred in its validity analysis. View "Apple, Inc. v. Samsung Elec. Co., Ltd." on Justia Law