Opinion ID: 741003
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Acceptable Substitutes

Text: 23 Although the capacity issue standing alone was sufficient for the trial court to conclude lost profits should not be awarded, the trial court found SPECS, the competitor product with cylindrical lenses made by Uvex, to be an acceptable, non-infringing alternative. Gargoyles argued in the trial court that SPECS was not an acceptable alternative because the RFP from MRDC contained a requirement of toric lenses with substantial wrap depth and zero power and the Army's technical requirements during Desert Storm included a specification of toric wrap so as to meet its Comfort and Attractiveness requirement. Although the RFP from the Natick Center did not contain such a requirement, Gargoyles argues Col. LaPiana criticized the removal of the specification from the original draft. 24 Moreover, Gargoyles argues that SPECS were not available or on the market during the relevant accounting period because they were not type classified (as standard Army issue). See Zygo Corp. v. Wyko Corp., 79 F.3d 1563, 1571, 38 USPQ2d 1281, 1287 (Fed.Cir.1996) (product which is not available for purchase cannot be acceptable alternative). Finally, Gargoyles claims that because the Army ultimately purchased eyewear with toric lenses from AO, it is inferable that the Army had a clear preference for the patented item. See Kalman v. Berlyn, 914 F.2d 1473, 1484, 16 USPQ2d 1093, 1102 (Fed.Cir.1990) (A product lacking the advantages of [the] patented [device] can hardly be termed a substitute 'acceptable' to the customer who wants those advantages.) (quoting Panduit, 575 F.2d at 1162, 197 USPQ at 734). Gargoyles concludes that, applying its proposed standard, there was a reasonable probability that some sales would have been directed to it if B/LPS was not available, and this fact in turn gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that all sales would have gone to Gargoyles. 25 The government provided evidence that the Army began developing SPECS in 1987, and by 1992 or 1993, Col. LaPiana was convinced that cylindrical lens eyewear could meet all military requirements. The government claims that SPECS had been recommended for type classification during Desert Storm, and Gargoyles' own commercial product was not type classified either, due to problems encountered during field testing and a lack of laser protection. Further, the Army sometimes allows for purchase of non-type classified items when special need is shown, as it did with Gargoyles' product for certain Army units. 26 We agree with the government's contention that causation of the loss of profits cannot be inferred here through the lack of acceptable substitutes; although Gargoyles characterizes the market as a two-competitor one, evidence established that: (i) Gargoyles' commercial product was not acceptable to the Army, (ii) SPECS had been in development for the Army from 1987 and the Army had accepted 500-600 units by the time of trial, 5 and (iii) Col. LaPiana, who was only one of several analysts in the Army on eyewear, eventually also considered toricity to be unnecessary. Thus, it was not clear error for the trial court to infer that, had B/LPS not been available, the Army would have considered SPECS acceptable to the Army despite their lack of the patented feature in question and that clear and convincing evidence had not been presented that sales would have gone to Gargoyles. We think the same result would also obtain under the asserted lower preponderance of the evidence standard.