Recent Successes
May 26, 2010
Fitch Even client, Takata Holdings, Inc., obtained a favorable patent claim construction ruling in its patent infringement lawsuit against CTS Corporation, which is pending before the Honorable Avern Cohn in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
In this lawsuit, Takata Holdings contends that CTS has infringed U.S. Patent No. 7,100,944, which relates to a seat belt tension sensor design for use in automobile passenger safety restraint systems. These sensors monitor seat belt tension to detect the presence of and classify the type of occupant so that the air bag can be deployed with an appropriate amount of force during a crash event. The ‘944 patent protects a particular sensor design that provides for greater accuracy by minimizing the effects of friction during belt tension measurement.
The parties presented to the Court a number of disputes regarding the scope and meaning of the asserted patent claims. The Court resolves such disputes as a matter of law based on the claim language, the patent specification and the record of its prosecution in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In a Memorandum and Order On Claim Construction dated May 26, 2010, Judge Cohn resolved all disputed claim interpretation issues in favor of Takata Holdings, adopting each of the definitions of disputed claim language proposed by Takata Holdings.
Takata Holdings is represented in this litigation by Fitch Even attorneys Tim Maloney, Steve Schroer, Steve Favakeh and Paul Henkelmann.
For a copy of the Court’s decision click here.
