Opinion ID: 210959
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Conical Walls

Text: 27 The district court found that there was not a genuine issue of material fact as to literal infringement because the shape of the inner hollow space in the Vertex® model is conical, with angular rather than spherical walls. Vertex Order, slip op. at 2-3. The court also found that even if a portion of the shape is spherical, that spherically-shaped portion does not contact the head of the screw. Id., slip op. at 3. 28 On appeal, DePuy points to two comparisons as evincing a question of fact regarding a spherically-shaped portion in the Vertex® model. First, DePuy points to pictures of a basketball and a selected portion of the basketball, which DePuy submitted as exhibits before the district court. DePuy argues that the picture of the selected portion demonstrates that a thin slice of a sphere creates a profile that appears conical. Depictions of those exhibits are shown below: 29 NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE 30 Second, DePuy points to a comparison of a cross section of the Vertex® model and Figure 3 of the '678 patent. That comparison is shown in the following figures, with arrows added to indicate the relevant conical and spherical walls: 31 NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE DePuy argues that, like the selected portion of the basketball, the Vertex® model could be viewed as possessing a spherically-shaped portion that appears conical in profile. 32 Although these comparisons do highlight that at varying degrees of magnification or abstraction a curved surface can appear angular, they do not create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the Vertex® model possesses the spherically-shaped limitation. DePuy points to no evidence that specifically identifies a region in the Vertex® model as spherical. Indeed, DePuy's expert acknowledged that the engineering drawing of the Vertex® model shows a conically-shaped hollow portion, and that a photomicrograph of the Vertex® receiver shows a ledge—not a sphere—even if it contains some rounding at the edges. At best, these declarations identify a conical or ledge structure; they do not constitute evidence of a portion that meets the literal terms approximately spherical, such as a globe or a basketball. Therefore, the district court did not err in concluding that there was no genuine issue of material fact as to literal infringement.