Opinion ID: 2673152
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Arbitrator

Text: The district court found that substantial evidence supports the jury’s verdict of non-infringement because a “reasonable jury could have found that [VGo’s] product lacks an arbitrator that ‘determines’ which user or remote station has exclusive control of the mobile robot” as it “merely passively allows only the first user to exclusively control the robot.” Minute Order at 4, ECF No. 262. As noted above, we find that the district court properly construed the term “arbitrator” as “a device that determines which user or station has exclusive control, or which user’s commands the robot should follow.” And, we find that the term “determines,” in this context, requires the ability to consider and resolve competing requests. InTouch argues that the VGo robot “determines” which pre-authorized user has exclusive control based on “first-come/first-served” rules and thereby precludes others from gaining access. InTouch further alleges that the term “determines” means “regulates” without any active decision making, and that the VGo system “automatically determines which user controls the robot.” Appellant Reply Br. 11, 14. We disagree with InTouch that the VGo system “determines” which pre-authorized user has exclusive control. By asking that we define “determines” as it proposes, InTouch seeks to back into a construction of the claim limitation “arbitrator” which we have already rejected. While addressing the construction of the term “arbitrator,” we concluded that the specification requires the arbitrator to possess the ability to consider and resolve competing requests. See supra section II.B.1. As such, the VGo system lacks an arbitrator because the VGo system cannot consider and resolve competing requests for a single robot, i.e. it makes no determination about 24 INTOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC. v. VGO COMMUNICATIONS, INC. competing user requests. Indeed, InTouch concedes that “[t]he VGo system grants the first requesting user control of that robot to the exclusion of others on the list” and “the VGo system prevents other users from accessing the ‘Busy’ robot until the user releases control.” Appellant Br. 22 (citations omitted). Because others cannot access the robot until the user releases control, the VGo system never considers and resolves competing requests for that robot, and thus, does not “determine” which user has exclusive control of the robot. Consequently, the VGo system lacks an “arbitrator.” We agree with the district court that substantial evidence supports this conclusion. VGo submitted the testimony of Mr. Ryden. Mr. Ryden demonstrated the VGo system for the jury. During the demonstration, he showed that the VGo system makes no “decision” as to which user can connect and control the VGo robot because the system simply provides exclusive control to the first requesting user. J.A. 10758–59. He confirmed that there is no way that a user can connect to a robot after another user has already connected to that robot, and that the VGo system does not even know that somebody else wants to connect to that robot. J.A. 10758–59. Mr. Ryden explained that, once a user connects to a robot, the green “call button” disappears. J.A. 10758. Another user does not even have the option of trying to connect to an unavailable VGo robot, so no competing requests for access can exist. J.A. 10757–58. The jury had the right to rely upon Mr. Ryden’s testimony and to reject any testimony proffered by InTouch to the contrary. We do not decide what evidence seems more persuasive. Our only role is to determine whether there was substantial evidence upon which the jury could predicate its non-infringement judgment. See i4i Ltd. P’ship v. Microsoft Corp., 598 F.3d 831, 849 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (“Because infringement was tried to a jury, we review the verdict only for substantial evidence.” (citing INTOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC. v. VGO COMMUNICATIONS, INC. 25 ACCO Brands, Inc. v. ABA Locks Mfr. Co., 501 F.3d 1307, 1311 (Fed. Cir. 2007))). We find that there was. InTouch’s objections to the jury’s non-infringement finding under the Doctrine of Equivalents (“DOE”) fare no better. InTouch points to Dr. Hackwood’s expert testimony that the differences in the claimed “arbitrator” and VGo’s arbitration system were insubstantial. Specifically, Dr. Hackwood testified that the VGo system has the function of controlling access to the VGo robot between first and second remote stations through the VGo App software that allows only one user to connect to the robot. See J.A. 10667–69, 17430. According to Dr. Hackwood, only one remote station has control of the robot at any one time because the green “call button” disappears and the status indicator turns from green to red. See J.A. 10667– 69, 17430. While this testimony was proffered, the jury was free to reject it. As VGo points out, the jury was free to believe that the VGo system does not resolve competing requests for control of the robot based on the substantial evidence of that fact submitted by VGo as outlined above. Since it does not do so, the jury could reasonably conclude that the VGo system does not perform substantially the same function, and does not do so in substantially the same way, Dr. Hackwood’s testimony notwithstanding. See Dawn Equip. Co. v. Ky. Farms Inc., 140 F.3d 1009, 1015–16 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (“Under the function-way-result test, one considers whether the element of the accused device at issue performs substantially the same function, in substantially the same way, to achieve substantially the same result, as the limitation at issue in the claim.” (citing Hilton Davis Chem. Co. v. Warner-Jenkinson Co., 62 F.3d 1512, 1518 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (en banc), rev’d on other grounds, 520 U.S. 17 (1997))). Based on the evidence submitted, we conclude that the jury reasonably could have found that the VGo system does not infringe the claimed “arbitrator” limitation of claim 79, either literally or under the DOE. 26 INTOUCH TECHNOLOGIES, INC. v. VGO COMMUNICATIONS, INC.