Venturi Jet Sets, Inc. v. Custom Molded Products, Inc.
Venturi Jet Sets, Inc. v. Custom Molded Products, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER ON CLAIM CONSTRUCTION AND DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This matter is before the Court on the parties’ Cross-Motions for Claim Construction and on Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment. A hearing on all Motions was held on August 3, 2015. Having considered the arguments of the parties and the materials provided, the Court will construe the requested terms and deny Defendant’s Motion -for Partial Summary Judgment as discussed below.
I. BACKGROUND
On November 11, 2013, Plaintiff Venturi Jet Sets, Inc. (“VJS”) filed suit against Defendant Custom Molded Products, Inc. (“CMP”) for patent infringement of United States Patent No. 7,766,038 (the “'038 Patent”) and false patent marking of United States Patent No. 6,804,841 (the “'841. Patent”). CMP filed a counterclaim seeking a declaratory judgment of patent invalidity, non-infringement, and false marking of the '038 Patent. The parties filed Cross-Motions for Claim Construction. Additionally, CMP filed a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment claiming invalidity for indefiniteness of the '038 Patent.
II. DISCUSSION
A. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION
The parties request construction of the following terms and phrases: lobe; carries; disposed in; indentation; each indentation being positioned closer to a center point of the central chamber than each lobe; corner; lobed polygon; between; plurality of openings; opening; outlet; and outlets.
The Supreme Court, in Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.,
A patentee may choose, however, “to be his own lexicographer and use terms in a manner other than their -ordinary meaning, as long as the special definition of the term is clearly stated in the patent specification or file history.”
1. LOBE
The parties request construction of the term “lobe” as it appears in claims 1, 9, 14, and-18 of the '038 Patent.
CMP argues that the term lobe in all claims, including claims 1, 9, 14, and 18, must have the same meaning. That meaning, CMP urges, should be: “a rounded projection that extends away from the center point of the central chamber and that is large enough to contain an opening (as defined herein).”
CMP is only partially correct. There can be multiple embodiments of the claimed invention. While an embodiment of the invention under claims 9, 14, and 18 must have lobes large enough to carry an opening, an embodiment of the invention based on claim 1 alone does not require lobe's large enough to' carry an opening because such language is absent in the claim.
Under the doctrine of claim differentiation, “the presence of a dependent claim that adds a particular limitation raises a presumption that the limitation in question is not found in the independent claim.”
Accordingly, the Court will adopt VJS’s construction for the term “lobe” as: “a rounded projection, the perimeter of which extends away from the center point of the central chamber.”
2. CARRIES/DISPOSED IN
CMP requests construction of the term “carries” as it appears in claims 9 and 18 and the term “disposed in” as it appears in claim 14 of the '038 Patent.
CMP proposes “carries” to be defined as “houses, contains, or includes.”
VJS objects to construction. It asserts that the two terms are non-technical and should be submitted to the jury as-is. However, if construction is required, VJS proposes that the term “carry” be defined according to its dictionary definition: “to contain or be capable of containing.”
CMP disputes a construction that allows each lobe to contain or be capable of containing a portion of an opening. It argues that nothing in the language of the '038 Patent claims or specification supports VJS’s argument that each lobe may contain less than an entire opening.
“To begin with, the context in which a term is used in the asserted claim can b.e highly instructive.”
Moreover, if the patentee were to intend that the word “carry” mean “capable of carrying,” the patent could have easily been written to include the option into the claim, e.g. with the word “can” preceding “carry” as it was written within the specification. The '038 Patent specification teaches that “each lobe can be sized and shaped to carry one of the plurality of openings in the front jet interface surface.”
Further, the '038 Patent specification, claims, and drawings all suggest that each lobe is an undefined area extending away from the central chamber. The exact dimensions of each lobe are not defined and VJS is not required to do so,
Accordingly, the Court will construe the terms “carry” and “disposed in” as: “to contain no more than one opening or a portion of one opening.”
3. INDENTATION
At the Markman hearing, the parties agreed that the term “indentation” be constructed as: “an inward notch or depression in the central chamber that at least partially separates one lobe (as defined) from another lobe.”
4. EACH INDENTATION BEING POSITIONED CLOSER TO A CENTER POINT OF THE CENTRAL CHAMBER THAN EACH LOBE
CMP requests construction of the phrase “each indentation being positioned closer to a center point of the central chamber than each lobe” as it appears in claims 1, 14, and 18.
CMP’s dispute with this claim phrase focuses on whether the claim language requires that each indentation be measurably closer in proximity to the center point of the central chamber than any point of the lobe. However, as set forth above, the patent specification and claims do not define the metes and bounds that form the lobe. Instead, the '038 Patent specification teaches that the lobes may vary in size and that each lobe “form[s] each corner of the polygon [manifold].”
Thus, the Court will construct the disputed phrase as: “each indentation is positioned closer to the center point of the central chamber than each lobe as an entirety.” CMP’s argument of indefiniteness will be more fully addressed below.
5. CORNER
The Court will decline construction of the term “corner.” The Court finds this term needs no further construction.
6. LOBED POLYGON
The parties have agreed that the term “lobed polygon” be constructed as “a multi-sided shape that comprises at least one lobe (as defined herein).”
7. BETWEEN
The Court will decline construction of the term “between.” The Court finds this term needs no further construction.
8. OPENING/PLURALITY OF OPENINGS
The parties have agreed the terms “opening(s)” and “plurality of openings” be construed as “hole(s) in the jet interface surface.”
9. OUTLET
Parties have agreed the term “outlet” be construed as “a hole in one of the side walls that lets water flow out of the central chamber in a direction that is perpendicular to the water flow direction out of the plurality of openings (as defined herein).”
10. OUTLETS
The parties disagree over construction of the term “outlets” in the plural. VJS notes in its Cross-Motion for Claim Construction that “outlets” should not be confused with “outlet 40, in the singular
At the Markman hearing, CMP argued that the Court should not rewrite or correct a mistake and cited to Allen Engirneering Corp. v. Bartell Industries, Inc.
However, the issue of whether the mistaken use of the term “outlets” instead of “openings” in claim 1 renders the claim invalid is not before the Court. Rather, the Court has been asked .to construct the term outlets under general claim construction principles. At the hearing, VJS point7 ed to two instances in the '038 Patent in which the term “outlets” is used, both situations indicating that the term outlets refer to the plurality of openings in the jet interface surface. Thus, the Court will construct the term outlets as it does the term openings, which are: “hole(s) in the jet interface surface.”
B. DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT
In its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment for patent invalidity based on indefiniteness, CMP bears the burden of showing that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
In its Motion, CMP argues that the claim phrase “each indentation being positioned closer to a center point of the central chamber than each lobe,”
The parties agree that the term “closer to” is a “word of degree.”
“A patentee need not define his invention with mathematical precision in order to comply with.the definiteness requirement.”
The specification teaches that “each lobe can be sized and shaped” differently and that “each indentation can be sized and shaped to facilitate flow of an aggregate hardening material around the manifold device.”
Moreover, the prosecution history of the '038 Patent supports the conclusion that the claim phrase in dispute is not indefinite. Under 35 U.S.C. § 282, a patent is presumed valid based on the underlying presumption that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) properly examined the claims in the first instance.
Accordingly, CMP fails to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that the '038 Patent, “when read in light of the specification and the prosecution history, *fail[s] to inform, with reasonable certainty, those skilled in the art about the scope of the invention.’”
III. CONCLUSION
It is therefore
ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Determine Markman Issues (Docket No. 36) is construed in part and denied in part as set forth above.
It is further
ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 53) is DENIED.
The parties are directed to submit a scheduling order for the Court’s signature within fourteen (14) days.
. 517 U.S. 370, 116 S.Ct 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996).
. Id. at 372, 116 S.Ct. 1384.
. Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic, Inc., 90 F.3d 1576, 1582 (Fed.Cir. 1996).
. Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1314 (Fed.Cir. 2005) (en banc).
. Vitronics Corp., 90 F.3d at 1582.
. Id.
. Id.
. '038 Patent col. 5,1. 67; col. 6,1. 37; col. 6, 1. 59; col. 8,1. 3.
. Id. col, 5,1. 66-67.
. Id. col. 6,1. 37-38; col. 8,1. 16.
. Id. col. 6,1. 66-67.
. Docket No. 59-1, at 1.
. '038 Patent col. 6,1. 37-38.
. Acumed LLC v. Stryker Corp., 483 F.3d 800, 806 (Fed.Cir. 2007).
. Karlin Tech., Inc. v. Surgical Dynamics, Inc., 177 F.3d 968, 971-72 (Fed.Cir. 1999).
. See Acumed, 483 F.3d at 807.
. '038 Patent col. 6, 1. 37-38; col. 8, 1. 16; col. 6, 1. 66-67.
. Id. col. 6, 1. 37-38; col. 8, 1. 16.
. Id. col. 6,1. 66-67.
. Docket No, 59-1, at 1.
. Id.
. Docket No. 50, at 5 (citing http:// dictionary.reference.com/browse/carry?s=t, last accessed March 11, 2015).
. Docket No. 50, at 5.
. Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d at 1314.
. Id.
. '038 Patent col. 4,1. 4-6 (emphasis added).
. Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1323.
. Invitrogen Corp. v. Biocrest Mfg., L.P., 424 F.3d 1374, 1384 (Fed.Cir. 2005) ("A patentee need not define his invention with mathematical precision....”).
. '038 Patent col. 4,1. 1.
. Id. (emphasis added).
. '038 Patent col. 5, 1. 67-col. 6, 1. 2; col. 6, 1. 57-59; col. 8,1. 1-3.
. Docket No. 59-1, at 2.
. Id.
. '038 Patent col. 4,1. 1.
. Docket No. 59-1, at 2.
. Id.
. Id. at 3.
. Docket No'. 35, at viii.
. 299 F.3d 1336 (Fed.Cir. 2002).
. Id. at 1349.
. Id.
. Id.
. Id.
. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).
. Southwall Techs., Inc. v. Cardinal IG Co., 54 F.3d 1570, 1578 (Fed.Cir. 1995).
. Biosig Instruments, Inc. v. Nautilus, Inc., 783 F.3d 1374, 1377 (Fed.Cir. 2015) (quoting Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc. (Nautilus II), — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 2120, 2124, 189 L.Ed.2d 37 (2014)).
. Id. at 1378.
. Id.
. See Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. P'ship, 564 U.S. 91, 131 S.Ct. 2238, 2242, 180 L.Ed.2d 131 (2011).
. '038 Patent col. 5, 1. 1-2; col. 6, 1. 57-59; col. 8,1. 1-3.
. Docket No. 53, at 2.
. Biosig, 783 F.3d at 1378 (quoting Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Applera Corp., 599 F.3d 1325, 1332 (Fed.Cir. 2010)).
. Id.
. Id. (quoting Interval Licensing LLC v. AOL, Inc., 766 F.3d 1364, 1370 (Fed.Cir. 2014)).
. Invitrogen Corp., 424 F.3d at 1384.
. Interval Licensing LLC, 766 F.3d at 1371.
. '038 Patent col. 4,1. 7-9.
. Id. at col. 3,1. 66-67; col. 4,1. 1.
. See 35 U.S.C. § 282.
. Docket No. 53-1 Ex. 7, at 4.
. Biosig Instruments, Inc., 783 F.3d at 1377 (quoting Nautilus II, 134 S.Ct. at 2124).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- VENTURI JET SETS, INC., a Utah Corporation v. CUSTOM MOLDED PRODUCTS, INC., a Georgia Corporation, and John Does 1-10
- Status
- Published