Federal Circuit Affirms Judgment In Favor Of Pioneer Laboratories, Inc.

Federal Circuit Affirms Jury Verdict of Willful Patent Infringement And Judgment Awarding Treble Damages and Attorneys' Fees

Fitch Even Client Chamberlain Wins Reversal At Federal Circuit

August 11, 2006

On August 11, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a non-infringement judgment confirming that Pioneer's Quantum™ Pedicle Screw system does not infringe U.S. Patent No. 6,565,565. The patent is owned by Stryker Corporation.

Pioneer Laboratories, Inc. is a medical device manufacturer located in Marquette, Michigan. On February 23, 2005, Pioneer filed a declaratory judgment action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan seeking a declaration that the Quantum™ Pedicle Screw System does not infringe the '565 patent, and that the patent is invalid. The Quantum™ system is a unique, implantable spinal stabilization system.

On October 13, 2005, the District Court agreed with Pioneer's construction of the asserted patent claims, denied two summary judgment motions filed by Stryker and granted Pioneer summary judgment that the Quantum™ system does not infringe the '565 patent. The Federal Circuit heard oral argument on August 10, 2006, and affirmed the following day without written opinion. The District Court's opinion has been published as Pioneer Laboratories, Inc. v. Stryker Corp., 395 F.2d 612 (W.D. Mich. 2005).

Pioneer was represented in the District Court and the Federal Circuit by Phil Petti, Steve Schroer, Tim Maloney and Mark Borsos.

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June 7, 2006

On June 1, 2006, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in favor of Fitch Even's client, Liquid Dynamics, in its patent infringement lawsuit against Vaughan Company, Inc. The judgment included a finding of willful patent infringement and compensatory damages awarded by a jury, as well as enhanced damages, attorneys' fees, and a permanent injunction entered by the District Court. The decision also rejected Vaughan's defenses alleging prior art invalidity, non-enablement, best mode violations, and inequitable conduct. The Federal Circuit's precedential opinion affirmed the District Court judgment in favor of Liquid Dynamics in all respects.

Liquid Dynamics' "'414 patent" is directed to storing and mixing system technology commonly employed in wastewater treatment facilities. The technology of the '414 patent has achieved industry award winning status and significant commercial success. Vaughan originally supplied pumps incorporated into Liquid Dynamics' patented JetMix system. The jury, the District Court, and the Federal Circuit were persuaded by evidence that Vaughan later copied Liquid Dynamics' patented design in Vaughan's competitive "RotaMix" system, which Vaughan introduced to the market after Liquid Dynamics' early commercial successes. The jury and the Federal Circuit found that Vaughan had infringed Liquid Dynamics' patent in connection with the sale of 47 RotaMix systems installed as of April 2002, including 11 systems in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The June 1, 2006 decision was the second victory for Fitch Even and Liquid Dynamics before the Federal Circuit. In July of 2002, the District Court had granted Vaughan summary judgment on the issue of infringement, but in an appeal prosecuted by Fitch Even, the Federal Circuit reversed summary judgment because the District Court had erred in interpreting certain claim language (Liquid Dynamics Corporation v. Vaughan Company, Inc., 355 F.3d 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). As a result, the lawsuit was remanded to the District Court for the jury trial, which was ultimately held in October 2004.

The Liquid Dynamics trial and appeal team at Fitch Even was led by Steve Schroer, Mark Hetzler and Jon Birmingham.

The two Federal Circuit opinions in the noted case can be accessed via the following links: Liquid Dynamics Corporation v. Vaughan Company, Inc., 05-1105, -1325, -1366, -1399 and Liquid Dynamics Corporation v. Vaughan Company, Inc., 355 F.3d 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

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March 15, 2006

In a March 15, 2006 memorandum opinion, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed an adverse judgment against Fitch Even client, The Chamberlain Group, Inc., the nation's leading garage door opener manufacturer. Chamberlain was sued by Microchip Technology Incorporated in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Microchip sought a declaratory judgment of non-infringement, invalidity and breach of a license agreement regarding several of Chamberlain's patents protecting its remote control technology. Chamberlain denied all allegations, and further denied that there was any justiciable controversy between the parties.

The District Court found that there was a justiciable controversy between the parties and, after several years of pretrial proceedings, granted summary judgment on all three grounds in favor of Microchip. Chamberlain appealed, and the Federal Circuit agreed with Chamberlain that there was no justiciable controversy. The Federal Circuit vacated the district court's entry of summary judgment in its entirety and remanded the action to the District Court with instructions to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction based on the lack of a justiciable controversy.

Chamberlain is represented by Karl Fink, Rudy Kratz and John Flannery.

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