Posts Tagged: "doctrine of equivalents"

CAFC Partially Affirms for VLSI on Infringement But Vacates and Remands for New Trial on Damages

On December 4, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential ruling in the ongoing patent battle between computer chip patent owner VLSI and major chipmaker Intel Corp. While the court affirmed the infringement findings underpinning the bulk of VLSI’s $2.175 billion jury verdict awarded back in March 2021, the panel ordered a retrial of damages award for one of two asserted patents and dismissed the doctrine of equivalents infringement finding for the other patent. The Federal Circuit also found that the district court abused its discretion by denying Intel’s motion for leave to add a license defense to its case.

CAFC Corrects District Court Claim Construction, Doctrine of Equivalents Analysis in Diaper Genie Infringement Case

On March 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) vacated and reversed the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of defendant Munchkin, Inc. (Munchkin) for noninfringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,899,420 (the ‘420 patent) and 6,974,029 (the ‘029 patent), held by plaintiffs Edgewell Personal Care Brands, LLC and International Refills Company, Ltd. (collectively Edgewell). Edgewell manufactures and sells the Diaper Genie, a diaper pail system with two main components: 1) a pail for collection of soiled diapers; and 2) a replaceable cassette within the pail that forms a wrapper around the soiled diapers. The ‘420 and ‘029 patents relate to improvements in the cassette design. Edgewell filed suit against Munchkin for infringement of these patents for selling refill cassettes marketed as being compatible with Edgewell’s Diaper Genie. Edgewell appealed the district court’s decision to grant summary judgment to Munchkin for noninfringement of both patents.

Disclosure-Dedication Rule: An Effective Tool Against Infringement Claims Under the Doctrine of Equivalents

The doctrine of equivalents allows a patentee to raise a claim of infringement even when each and every element of the patented invention is not identically present in the allegedly infringing product/process. The doctrine is aimed at preventing an infringer from gaining the benefit of a patented invention by making insubstantial changes. Disclosure-dedication doctrine is a bar to the doctrine of equivalents. Under the disclosure-dedication doctrine, when a patentee discloses subject matter but does not claim it, the patentee dedicates the unclaimed subject matter to the public and cannot recapture it through the doctrine of equivalents. The public can then practice the unclaimed subject matter without fear of infringement.Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc. v. Slayback Pharma LLC, No. 2019-1924 (Fed. Cir. May 8, 2020) (“Eagle Pharm”) is the most recent Federal Circuit case involving this doctrine. In Eagle Pharm, the Federal Circuit considered whether a patentee can avoid dedication on the ground that the disclosure occurred in an embodiment distinct from the claimed invention. The court answered the question in the negative.

Federal Circuit Upholds District of Delaware’s Summary Judgment Ruling for Donghee

Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) issued a precedential public opinion affirming the District Court for the District of Delaware’s grant of summary judgment of noninfringement for Donghee America, Inc. and Donghee Alabama, LLC (Donghee). The CAFC held that the summary judgment ruling was consistent with the claim construction and supported by the facts on the record. A sealed opinion was delivered on November 21.

The plaintiff, Plastic Omnium Advanced Innovation and Research (Plastic Ominum), owns two patents for blow molding plastic fuel tanks, U.S. Patent Nos. 6,814,921 (‘921) and 6,866,812 (‘812). The patents outline a system to manufacture the tanks in a manner that allows accessory components to be installed without damaging or removing part of the tank’s wall. The ‘812 patent describes a method in which a hollow plastic tube, called a parison, is extruded, formed, and then cut by a blade at the exit of the extruder. The dispute arises out of the ‘921 patent’s description of an “extruded parison” limitation.

Federal Circuit Affirms District Court’s Summary Judgment of NonInfringement Under the Doctrine of Equivalents

On November 22, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) affirmed a decision of the District of Nevada granting summary judgment of noninfringement under the doctrine of equivalents. Pharma Tech Solutions, Inc. (Pharma Tech) sued LifeScan, Inc. (LifeScan) for infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,153,069 (the ‘069 patent) and 6,413,411 (the ‘411 patent). The patents are directed toward home use, blood glucose monitoring systems for individuals with diabetes. Previous monitoring systems determined blood glucose concentration from the Cottrell current drawn and measured from a patient’s oxidized blood sample. The specification of the ‘069 and ‘411 patents claims to improve on these systems by “eliminating several of the critical operator dependent variables that adversely affect the accuracy and reliability” of the previous systems. The invention performs multiple Cottrell current measurements (opposed to just the one) and converts these into analyte concentrations. It then compares the results for better accuracy, notifying the user if the results fall outside of an acceptable range of each other to indicate a system error. Ultimately, the CAFC found that because LifeScan’s meter does not convert diffusion limiting current readings to analyte concentration measurements and then compare the measurements to detect errors, and because Pharma Tech is barred in its infringement argument by prosecution history estoppel, LifeScan did not infringe Pharma Tech’s ‘069 or ‘411 patents.