Source: http://openjurist.org/342/f3d/1361/alloc-inc-nv-ab-v-international-trade-commission
Timestamp: 2015-03-28 14:30:43
Document Index: 246059702

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1337', '§ 1337', 'Application No. 08', '§ 112', '§ 112', '§ 1295', '§ 1337', '§ 706']

342 F3d 1361 Alloc Inc Nv Ab v. International Trade Commission | OpenJurist
342 F. 3d 1361 - Alloc Inc Nv Ab v. International Trade Commission	Home342 f3d 1361 alloc inc nv ab v. international trade commission
342 F3d 1361 Alloc Inc Nv Ab v. International Trade Commission 342 F.3d 1361
ALLOC, INC., Berry Finance N.V., and Valinge Aluminium, AB, Appellants,v.INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Appellee, andPergo, Inc., andRoysol, andAkzenta Paneele + Profile GmbH, andUnilin Décor N.V., BHK of America, and Meister-Leisten Schulte, GmbH, Intervenors.
No. 02-1222.
No. 02-1291.
DECIDED: September 10, 2003.
Corrected September 22, 2003.
Daniel J. O'Connor, Baker & McKenzie, of Chicago, Illinois, argued for appellants. With him on the brief were David I. Roche, Jasmine C. Abdel-khalik, and Shima S. Roy.
Clara Kuehn, Attorney, International Trade Commission, of Washington, DC, argued for appellee. On the brief were Lyn M. Schlitt, General Counsel; James M. Lyons, Deputy General Counsel; and Timothy P. Monaghan, Attorney. Of counsel were David I. Wilson, Michael Diehl, and Wayne Herrington, Attorneys.
John M. DiMatteo, Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP, of New York, New York, argued for intervenors Unilin Décor N.V., BHK of America, Meister-Leisten Schulte GmbH, and all other intervenors. On the brief were Eugene M. Gelernter, of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP; Art C. Cody, of Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP; and Laura M. Raisty, Adeel A. Mangi, and Daniel Ravicher, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, of New York, New York. Of counsel was Cecilia H. Gonzalez, Howrey, Simon Arnold & White, LLP, of Washington, DC. Also on the brief were Edward V. Filardi, Daniel A. DeVito, and Todd J. Tiberi, Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom, LLP, of New York, New York, for intervenor Pergo, Inc. Of counsel were David L. Cohen, Scott D. Lyne, and Douglas R. Nemec, Skadden Arps, etc. Also on the brief were Douglas V. Rigler, and L. Eden Burgess, Andrews & Kurth, LLP, of Washington, DC; and Andrew J. Patch, Young & Thompson, of Arlington, Virginia, for intervenor Roysol. Also on the brief were Ward B. Coe, III, Steven E. Tiller, and Gregory M. Stone, Whiteford, Tayler & Preston, L.L.P., of Baltimore, Maryland, for intervenor Akzenta Paneele + Profile GmbH. Of counsel was Edward H. Kim.
Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge RADER. Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge SCHALL.
In its Final Determination on Investigation No. 337-TA-443 under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (section 337), the United States International Trade Commission (Commission) found no infringement of patent claims covering flooring products and methods of joining flooring products. In the Matter of Certain Flooring Prods., Inv. No. 337-TA-443, Notice of Final Initial Determination (Nov. 2, 2001) (Initial Determination); In the Matter of Certain Flooring Prods., Inv. No. 337-TA-443, Notice of Final Determination (Mar. 22, 2002) (Final Determination). Absent patent infringement, the Commission found no domestic injury under section 337 by the imported flooring products. Because the domestic producers, Alloc, Inc., Berry Finance N.V., and Valinge Aluminum AB (collectively, Alloc), cannot prove infringement of the properly construed claims, this court affirms.
Alloc filed a complaint with the Commission alleging the importation and sale of the accused flooring materials violated section 337. To show a violation of section 337(a)(1)(B) or section 337(a)(2), a complainant can prove three elements: (1) the importation of goods into the United States or sales of imported goods within the United States; (2) infringement by those goods or sales of a valid and enforceable United States patent; and (3) an industry in the United States marketing the patented articles. 19 U.S.C. §§ 1337(a)(1)(B) & 1337(a)(2) (2000).
Alloc owns the rights to U.S. Patent Nos. 5,860,267 (the '267 patent)1, 6,023,907 (the '907 patent), and 6,182,410 (the '410 patent), which claim systems and methods of joining floor panels. Alloc alleged violation of section 337 by reason of infringement of these patents' claims. The asserted patents share the identical specification and all claim priority from the same Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application, filed April 29, 1994, and a continuation of this PCT application, U.S. Application No. 08/436,224, filed May 17, 1995, now issued U.S. Patent No. 5,706,621.
Alloc asserted that Intervenors Pergo, Inc. (Pergo), Roysol, Akzenta Paneele + Profile, GmbH (Akzenta), Unilin N.V. (Unilin), and Meister-Leisten Schulte, GmbH (Meister) all imported flooring products that infringe claims in the '267, '907, and '410 patents. With the exception of Roysol, the Intervenors admitted importation of the accused flooring products, but denied infringing the asserted patents. By order dated July 10, 2001, the administrative judge made an initial determination, which found that Alloc had shown the existence of a domestic industry marketing the patented products — the third requirement under section 337. The administrative judge convened an evidentiary hearing on patent infringement.
Claim 19 of the '267 patent, claim 1 of the '907 patent, and claim 1 of the '410 patent are representative of the asserted claims from each patent and state (emphases added)2:
Claim 19 of the '267 patent
A method for laying and mechanically joining rectangular building panels in parallel rows, the method comprising the steps of:
a) placing a new one of the panels adjacent to a long edge of a previously laid first one of the panels in a first row and to a short edge of a previously laid second one of the panels in an adjacent second row, such that the new one of the panels is in the second row, while holding the new one of the panels at an angle relative to a principal plane of the first panel, such that the new one of the panels is spaced from its final longitudinal position relative to said second panel and such that a long edge of the new panel is provided with a locking groove which is placed upon and in contact with a locking strip at the adjacent long edge of the first panel; b) subsequently angling down the new one of the panels so as to accommodate a locking element of the strip of the first panel in the locking groove of the new panel, whereby the new panel and the first panel are mechanically connected with each other in a second direction with respect to the thus connected long edges, wherein the long edges, in the angled down position of the new panel, are in engagement with each other and thereby mechanically locked together in a first direction also; and
c) displacing the new one of the panels in its longitudinal direction relative to the first panel towards a final longitudinal position until a locking element of one of the short edges of the new one of the panels and the second panel snaps up into a locking groove of the other one of the short edges, whereby the new one of the panels and the second panel are mechanically connected with each other in both in the first direction and in the second direction with respect to the thus connected short edges.
Claim 1 of the '907 patent
a) bringing a new one of the panels into an intermediary position where (i) a previously laid first one of the panels is located in a first row, (ii) a second one of the panels is located in a second row and is in said first mutual position in relation to the first panel, and (iii) the new panel is located in the second row and is in said second mutual position in relation to the second panel and is in a position relative to the first panel such that a mutual distance is present between the upper portions of the adjacent joint edges of the new panel and the first panel;
b) while maintaining said second mutual position between the new panel and the second panel, displacing the new panel relative to the second panel into said first mutual position in relation to the first panel; and
c) angling the new panel and the second panel together into said second mutual position in relation to the first panel.
Claim 1 of the '410 patent
An edge lock for use in a flooring system having a plurality of floor panels, the edge lock for mechanically and releasably locking together adjacent edges of pairs of adjacent floor panels during assembly of the flooring system and when said adjacent floor panels are laying flat on a subfloor with upper corner portions of said adjacent edges being mutually spaced apart, said edge lock comprising: locking means for forming a first mechanical connection for locking said adjacent edges to each other in a vertical direction, and for forming a second mechanical connection for locking said adjacent edges to each other in a horizontal direction at right angles to said edges, said locking means including:
said locking means being constructed so as to operate as a one-way
snap lock in said horizontal direction during the assembly of said flooring system when displacing said adjacent edges towards each other by resiliently urging the flexible locking strip downwards until the upper portions of said adjacent edges have been brought into complete engagement with each other and the locking element thereby snaps into the locking groove to prevent drifting apart of said adjacent edges, and
After considering the specification, prosecution history, and other relevant evidence, the administrative judge construed the claims to require "play" or a space between a locking groove on a first panel and the locking element of a panel adjacent to the first panel. The administrative judge construed the claim terms "locking means," "locking element," and "locking member" in view of 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 6 to have structures requiring play. The administrative judge also construed the claims independently of § 112, ¶ 6 and arrived at essentially the same claim construction. In view of this construction, the administrative judge found no literal infringement by the imported products because he found that their locking systems did not include play. Without infringement, the administrative judge found that Alloc did not meet the domestic injury requirement of section 337. Therefore, the administrative judge absolved the intervenors of any violation of section 337 on November 2, 2001.
Alloc and the Commission's investigative staff filed petitions for review, contending the administrative judge erred in construing the claims. The Commission reviewed portions of the Initial Determination, and then issued a Final Determination, which agreed that all of Alloc's claims required the limitation of play. Alloc timely appealed to this court, and this court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(6).
This court reviews legal determinations in section 337 investigations, such as claim construction, without deference. Checkpoint Sys., Inc. v. United States Int'l Trade Comm'n, 54 F.3d 756, 760 (Fed.Cir. 1995). This court reviews factual determinations for substantial evidence. 19 U.S.C. § 1337(c) (2000); 5 U.S.C. § 706 (2000). Infringement, whether literal or under the doctrine of equivalents, is a question of fact. Warner-Jenkinson Co. v. Hilton Davis Chem. Co., 520 U.S. 17, 28, 117 S.Ct. 1040, 137 L.Ed.2d 146 (1997); Tanabe Seiyaku Co. v. United States Int'l Trade Comm'n, 109 F.3d 726, 731 (Fed. Cir.1997). Thus, an infringement determination will be upheld if supported by substantial evidence of record, which is defined to be "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Enercon GmbH v. Int'l Trade Comm'n, 151 F.3d 1376, 1381 (Fed.Cir.1998).
In determining patent infringement, this court first examines the scope and meaning of the asserted patent claims. Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1454 (Fed.Cir.1998). After all, the claims define the scope of an invention. SRI Int'l v. Matsushita Elec. Corp., 775 F.2d 1107, 1121 (Fed.Cir.1985) (en banc). "Claim language generally carries the ordinary meaning of the words in their normal usage in the field of invention" at the time of invention. Invitrogen Corp. v. Biocrest Mfg., L.P., 327 F.3d 1364, 1367 (Fed.Cir.2003). Thus, to determine claim meaning, a court immerses itself in the specification, the prior art, and other evidence, such as the understanding of skilled artisans at the time of invention, to discern the context and normal usage of the words in the patent claim. See, e.g., Hoechst Celanese Corp. v. BP Chems., Ltd., 78 F.3d 1575, 1579 (Fed.Cir.1996). Dictionaries and scientific treatises may also help supply the pertinent context and usage for claim construction. Tex. Digital Sys., Inc. v. Telegenix, Inc., 308 F.3d 1193, 1201, 1202 (Fed.Cir.2002); Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 182 F.3d 1298, 1309 (Fed.Cir.1999) Search Term End. Of course, a court must resist relying on any of these sources in a vacuum because they each influence the understanding of one of skill in the art at the time of invention — the standard for assessing claim meaning. DeMarini Sports, Inc. v. Worth, Inc., 239 F.3d 1314, 1324 (Fed.Cir.2001). Moreover, the specification or the prosecution history of a patent may alter the meaning of a claim term from its conventional usage. A patent applicant may consistently and clearly use a term in a manner either more or less expansive than its general usage in the relevant art, thereby expanding or limiting the scope of the term in the context of the patent claims. Middleton, Inc. v. Minn. Mining & Mfg. Co., 311 F.3d 1384, 1388 (Fed.Cir.2002) (explaining that in order to disavow claim scope, a patent applicant must clearly and unambiguously express surrender of subject matter during prosecution); SciMed Life Sys., Inc. v. Advanced Cardiovascular Sys., Inc., 242 F.3d 1337, 1342 (Fed.Cir.2001).
Turning to the Commission's finding that the claims include a "play" limitation, none of the asserted patent claims recites the term play.3 Even so, the claims recite floor system features, which are emphasized in the claim language above, in which play is necessarily present. These features, and their associated claim terms, relate to "displacement" and "disassembly."
The '907 specification describes "the invention" under the heading "Technical Problems and Objects of the Invention," as "provid[ing] a system for making a joint along adjacent joint edges of two building panels, especially floor panels ... said system being characterized in that ... the panels, when joined together, can occupy a relative position in said second direction where a play exists between the locking groove and a locking surface on the locking element that is facing the joint edges and is operative in said second mechanical connection." '907 patent, col. 3, II. 59-61; col. 4, II. 6, 15-19 (emphasis added). Notably, the "objects of the invention are achieved by means of a panel-joining system having the features recited in the appended claims." '907 patent, col. 3, II. 56-58. The '907 specification repeats this point: "The above and other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the appended claims and the following description of embodiments of the invention." '907 patent, col. 6, II. 15-17. Thus, the specification teaches that the invention as a whole, not merely a preferred embodiment, provides for play in the positioning of floor panels.