Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-00331/USCOURTS-cand-3_06-cv-00331-6/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 820
Nature of Suit: Copyright
Cause of Action: 17:101 Copyright Infringement

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

YIELD DYNAMICS, INC,

Plaintiff,

v

TEA SYSTEMS CORPORATION; TERRENCE

E ZAVECZ; DONNA ZAVECZ,

Defendants.

 /

No C 06-0331 VRW

FINAL JURY INSTRUCTIONS

Case 3:06-cv-00331-VRW Document 94 Filed 05/11/07 Page 1 of 21
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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DUTIES OF JURY TO FIND FACTS AND FOLLOW LAW

Members of the jury, now that you have heard all the

evidence and the arguments of the attorneys, it is my duty to

instruct you on the law which applies to this case. A copy of

these instructions will be available in the jury room for you to

consult if you find it necessary.

It is your duty to find the facts from all the evidence

in the case. To those facts you must apply the law as I give it to

you. You must follow the law as I give it to you in these

instructions whether you agree with it or not. And you must not be

influenced by any personal likes or dislikes, opinions, prejudices,

or sympathy. That means that you must decide the case solely on

the evidence before you. You will recall that you took an oath

promising to do so at the beginning of the case.

In following these instructions, you must follow all of

them and not single out some and ignore others; they are all

equally important. You must not read into these instructions or

into anything I may have said or done during the trial any

suggestion as to what verdict you should return--that is a matter

entirely up to you.

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United States District Court

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BURDEN OF PROOF - PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE

The first instruction concerns burden of proof. Because

in this case plaintiff bears the burden of proof with respect to

certain issues and defendants bear the burden of proof with respect

to certain issues, it is important that you keep in mind the party

that bears the burden of proof with respect to an issue.

When a party has the burden of proof on any claim or

affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence, it means

you must be persuaded by the evidence that the claim or affirmative

defense is more probably true than not true. Put another way,

“preponderance of the evidence” means evidence that has more

convincing force than that opposed to it. If the evidence is so

evenly balanced that you are unable to say that the evidence on

either side of an issue predominates, your finding on that issue

must be against the party who had the burden of proving it.

You should base your decision on all of the evidence,

regardless of which party presented it.

Case 3:06-cv-00331-VRW Document 94 Filed 05/11/07 Page 3 of 21
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BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Yield Dynamics, Inc (“YDI”) develops and

markets software in yield management and automated lithography

process control (“Yield Management Software”) for the semiconductor

industry. Yield Management Software is used by semiconductor

manufacturers to identify, analyze and correct defects or other

problems occurring in the semiconductor manufacturing process,

resulting in greater yield, and therefore profitability from such

process.

Defendant TEA Systems, Inc (“TEA”) is in the business of

designing and marketing lithography process control software. The

relevant software in this action is called “Weir Software.” 

Defendant Terrence E Zavecz is an individual who is the President

and the sole active employee of TEA. Collectively, TEA and

Terrence Zavecz are known as Defendants.

The plaintiff YDI purchased copyrighted software from

defendants in 1999. Mr Zavecz worked for YDI from 1999 until early

2001. After leaving YDI, Defendants began selling the software at

issue in this case – the Weir software. The Weir software imports

data from semiconductor manufacturing tools (called “metrology

data”) and analyzes that data for the users of the software. 

Copyright is the exclusive right to copy. The owner of a copyright

has the right to exclude any other person from reproducing,

preparing derivative works, distributing, performing, displaying,

or using the work covered by copyright for a specific period of

time.

Case 3:06-cv-00331-VRW Document 94 Filed 05/11/07 Page 4 of 21
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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Copyrighted work can include a computer program, as in

this case.

One who reproduces a copyrighted work without authority

from the copyright owner during the term of the copyright,

infringes the copyright. 

The court has already ruled that portions of the Weir

software primarily relating to how the program imports data

infringed on a copyright owned by plaintiff YDI. Accordingly, the

purpose of this trial is to determine the amount of money owed to

YDI as a remedy for this infringement.

YDI claims damages against defendants resulting from

defendants’ sale of the Weir software. Defendants contend that the

sale of the programs was attributable to factors other than the

infringing code segments. Defendants claim that the infringing

code segments have limited functionality in the program and

constitute, on a quantitative basis, a minuscule part of the

program. Defendants also contend that, after deducting expenses

incurred in the production, distribution or sale of the programs,

there were no profits.

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6

 COPYRIGHT DAMAGES – PROFITS

The copyright owner is entitled to any profits of the

defendant attributable to the infringement. There is no dispute

that defendants’ gross revenues from the sale of the works in

question were $247,365.06.

The defendant's profit is determined by subtracting all

expenses from the defendant's gross revenue.

The defendant's gross revenue is all of the defendant's

receipts from the sale of a product containing or using the

copyrighted work. The plaintiff has the burden of proving the

defendant’s gross revenue by a preponderance of the evidence.

Expenses are all operating costs, overhead costs and

production costs incurred in producing the defendant's gross

revenue. The defendant has the burden of proving the defendant’s

expenses by a preponderance of the evidence. You may only subtract

an expense if the defendant proves that the expense, including a

portion of overhead expenses, was of actual assistance in the

production, distribution or sale of the infringing product.

In addition, defendants dispute that the defendants’

gross revenues are attributable to the features of plaintiff’s

copyrighted works. Defendants bear the burden of proving that

elements of defendants’ gross revenues are attributable to factors

other than the copyrighted works. Unless you find that a portion

of the profit from the sale of a product containing or using the

copyrighted work is attributable to factors other than use of the

copyrighted work, all of the profit is to be attributed to the

infringement. The defendant has the burden of proving the portion

Case 3:06-cv-00331-VRW Document 94 Filed 05/11/07 Page 6 of 21
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of the profit, if any, attributable to factors other than

infringing the copyrighted work.

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WHAT IS EVIDENCE

The evidence from which you are to decide what the facts

are consists of:

1. The sworn testimony of witnesses, on both direct and

cross-examination, regardless of who called the witness; 

2. The exhibits which have been received into evidence and 

3. Any facts to which all the lawyers have agreed or

stipulated.

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WHAT IS NOT EVIDENCE

In reaching your verdict, you may consider only the

testimony and exhibits received into evidence. Certain things are

not evidence, and you may not consider them in deciding what the

facts are. I will list them for you:

Arguments and statements by lawyers are not evidence. 

The lawyers are not witnesses. What they have said in their

opening statements, closing arguments, and at other times is

intended to help you interpret the evidence, but it is not

evidence. If the facts as you remember them differ from the way

the lawyers have stated them, your memory of them controls.

Questions and objections by lawyers are not evidence. 

Attorneys have a duty to their clients to object when they believe

a question is improper under the rules of evidence. You should not

be influenced by the objection or by the court's ruling on it.

Testimony that has been excluded or stricken, or that you

have been instructed to disregard, is not evidence and must not be

considered. [In addition, some testimony and exhibits have been

received only for a limited purpose; where I have given a limiting

instruction, you must follow it.]

Anything you may have seen or heard when the court was

not in session is not evidence. You are to decide the case solely

on the evidence received at the trial.

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DIRECT AND CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE

Evidence may be direct or circumstantial. Direct

evidence is direct proof of a fact, such as testimony by a witness

about what that witness personally saw or heard or did. 

Circumstantial evidence is proof of one or more facts from which

you could find another fact. You should consider both kinds of

evidence. The law makes no distinction between the weight to be

given to either direct or circumstantial evidence. It is for you

to decide how much weight to give to any evidence.

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CREDIBILITY OF WITNESSES

In deciding the facts in this case, you may have to

decide which testimony to believe and which testimony not to

believe. You may believe everything a witness says, or part of it,

or none of it.

In considering the testimony of any witness, you may take

into account:

1. The opportunity and ability of the witness to see or hear

or know the things testified to;

2. The witness' memory;

3. The witness' manner while testifying;

4. The witness' interest in the outcome of the case and any

bias or prejudice;

5. Whether other evidence contradicted the witness'

testimony;

6. The reasonableness of the witness' testimony in light of

all the evidence and

7. Any other factors that bear on believability.

The weight of the evidence as to a fact does not

necessarily depend on the number of witnesses who testify.

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DISCREPANCIES IN TESTIMONY

 Discrepancies in a witness' testimony or between such

witness' testimony and that of other witnesses, if there were any,

do not necessarily mean that any witness should be discredited. 

Failure of recollection is common. Innocent misrecollection is not

uncommon. Two persons witnessing an incident or a transaction

often will see or hear it differently. You should consider whether

a discrepancy pertains to an important matter or only to something

trivial.

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OPINION EVIDENCE, EXPERT WITNESSES

You have heard testimony from persons who, because of

education or experience, are permitted to state opinions and the

reasons for those opinions.

Opinion testimony should be judged just like any other

testimony. You may accept it or reject it, and give it as much

weight as you think it deserves, considering the witness' education

and experience, the reasons given for the opinion and all the other

evidence in the case.

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CHARTS AND SUMMARIES NOT RECEIVED IN EVIDENCE

Certain charts and summaries that have not been received

in evidence have been shown to you in order to help explain the

contents of books, records, documents or other evidence in the

case. They are not themselves evidence or proof of any facts. If

they do not correctly reflect the facts or figures shown by the

evidence in the case, you should disregard these charts and

summaries and determine the facts from the underlying evidence.

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CHARTS AND SUMMARIES IN EVIDENCE

Certain charts and summaries have been received into

evidence to illustrate information brought out in the trial. 

Charts and summaries are only as good as the underlying evidence

that supports them. You should, therefore, give them only such

weight as you think the underlying evidence deserves.

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DUTY TO DELIBERATE

When you begin your deliberations, you should elect one

member of the jury as your foreperson. That person will preside

over the deliberations and speak for you here in court.

You will then discuss the case with your fellow jurors to

reach agreement if you can do so. Your verdict must be unanimous.

Each of you must decide the case for yourself, but you

should do so only after you have considered all the evidence,

discussed it fully with the other jurors, and listened to the views

of your fellow jurors.

Do not be afraid to change your opinion if the discussion

persuades you that you should. But do not come to a decision

simply because other jurors think it is right.

It is important that you attempt to reach a unanimous

verdict but, of course, only if each of you can do so after having

made your own conscientious decision. Do not change an honest

belief about the weight and effect of the evidence simply to reach

a verdict.

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CONSIDERATION OF EVIDENCE

Your verdict must be based solely on the evidence and on

the law as I have given it to you in these instructions. Nothing

that I have said or done, however, is intended to suggest what your

verdict should be--that is entirely up to you to decide.

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USE OF NOTES

Some of you have taken notes during the trial. Whether

or not you took notes, you should rely on your own memory of what

was said. Notes are only to assist your memory. You should not be

overly influenced by your notes.

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COMMUNICATION WITH COURT

If it becomes necessary during your deliberations to

communicate with me, you may send a note through the clerk or court

security officer, signed by your foreperson or by one or more

members of the jury. No member of the jury should ever attempt to

communicate with me except by a signed writing; and I will

communicate with any member of the jury on anything concerning the

case only in writing or orally here in open court. If you send out

a question, I will consult with the parties before answering it,

which may take some time. You may continue your deliberations

while waiting for the answer to any question. Remember that you

are not to tell anyone--including me--how the jury stands,

numerically or otherwise, until after you have reached a unanimous

verdict or have been discharged. Do not disclose any vote count in

any note to the court.

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RETURN OF VERDICT

A verdict form has been prepared for you. After you have

reached unanimous agreement on a verdict, your foreperson will fill

in the form that has been given to you, sign and date it and advise

the clerk or court security officer that you are ready to return to

the courtroom.

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