Opinion ID: 769918
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: standard of review

Text: 16 Judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) is appropriate when a party has been fully heard on an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for that party on that issue. Fed. R. Civ. P. 50(a)(1). We review a district court's denial of a motion for JMOL de novo, reapplying the JMOL standard used by the district court. See Sextant Avionique, S.A. v. Analog Devices, Inc., 172 F.3d 817, 824, 49 USPQ2d 1865, 1869 (Fed. Cir. 1999). To prevail, an appellant must show that the jury's findings, presumed or express, are not supported by substantial evidence or, if they were, that the legal conclusion(s) implied from the jury's verdict cannot in law be supported by those findings. Celeritas Techs., Ltd. v. Rockwell Int'l Corp., 150 F.3d 1354, 1358, 47 USPQ2d 1516, 1519 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (internal quotation marks omitted). On appeal, this court must consider the record evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant, drawing all reasonable inferences in its favor, without disturbing the jury's credibility determinations or substituting our resolutions of conflicting evidence for those of the jury. Applied Med. Resources v. U.S. Surgical, 147 F.3d 1374, 1377, 47 USPQ2d 1289, 1290 (Fed. Cir. 1998). 17 A determination of infringement requires a two-step analysis. See Gentry Gallery, Inc. v. Berkline Corp., 134 F.3d 1473, 1476, 45 USPQ2d 1498, 1500 (Fed. Cir. 1998). First, the claim must be properly construed to determine its scope and meaning. Second, the claim as properly construed must be compared to the accused device or process. Id. (quoting Carroll Touch, Inc. v. Electro Mechanical Sys., Inc., 15 F.3d 1573, 1576, 27 USPQ2d 1836, 1839 (Fed. Cir. 1993)). Literal infringement requires that every limitation of the patent claim be found in the accused device. General Mills, Inc. v. Hunt-Wesson, Inc., 103 F.3d 978, 981, 41 USPQ2d 1440, 1445 (Fed. Cir. 1997). An accused device that does not literally infringe a claim may still infringe under the doctrine of equivalents if each limitation of the claim is met in the accused device either literally or equivalently. Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1459, 46 USPQ2d 1169, 1177 (Fed. Cir. 1998) (en banc). 18 Claim construction is an issue of law, see Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 970-71, 34 USPQ2d 1321, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (en banc), aff'd, 517 U.S. 370 (1996), that we review de novo. See Cybor, 138 F.3d at 1456, 46 USPQ2d at 1172. Determination of infringement, whether literal or under the doctrine of equivalents, is a question of fact. See Bai v. L & L Wings, Inc., 160 F.3d 1350, 1353, 48 USPQ2d 1674, 1676 (Fed. Cir. 1998). 19 Following a jury verdict of infringement, we review a district court's denial of a permanent injunction under 35 U.S.C. § 283 for abuse of discretion. See Odetics, Inc. v. Storage Tech. Corp., 185 F.3d 1259, 1272, 51 USPQ2d 1225, 1233 (Fed. Cir. 1999). Likewise, we review a district court's denial of a motion for increased damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284 for abuse of discretion. See Jurgens v. McKasy, 927 F.2d 1552, 1557, 18 USPQ2d 1031, 1035 (Fed. Cir. 1991). Determining whether a case is exceptional and whether attorney fees should be granted under 35 U.S.C. § 285 is a two-step process. Enzo Biochem, Inc. v. Calgene, Inc., 188 F.3d 1362, 1370, 52 USPQ2d 1129, 1134 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The district court must first determine whether the case is exceptional, a factual determination that we review for clear error; if the case is found to be exceptional, the court must then determine whether attorney fees should be awarded, a determination that we review for abuse of discretion. Id. at 1370, 52 USPQ2d at 1134-35. 20 In reviewing a district court's exercise of discretion, we determine whether (1) the decision was clearly unreasonable, arbitrary, or fanciful; (2) the decision was based on an erroneous conclusion of law; (3) the court's findings were clearly erroneous; or (4) the record contains no evidence upon which the court rationally could have based its decision. Institut Pasteur v. Cambridge Biotech Corp. (In re Cambridge Biotech Corp.), 186 F.3d 1356, 1369, 51 USPQ2d 1321, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 1999).