Opinion ID: 2851310
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: “Compliance Mechanism”

Text: The parties first dispute whether “compliance mechanism” is a means-plus-function term. Means-plusfunction claim limitations, authorized by 35 U.S.C. § 112, 1 Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 6 of 35 U.S.C. § 112 were replaced by § 112(b) and § 112(f) respectively when the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (“AIA”), Pub. L. No. 112-29, 125 Stat. 284 (2011) took effect on September 16, 2012. Because the application resulting in the asserted patent was filed before that date, we refer to the pre-AIA version of § 112. 8 MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. ¶ 6, allow a patentee to draft claim terms “as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof.” 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 6. But this flexibility in claim drafting comes at a price. Such claims are construed to cover only “the structure, materials, or acts described in the specification as corresponding to the claimed function and equivalents thereof.” Williamson v. Citrix Online, LLC, _ F.3d _, No. 2013-1130, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10082, at  (Fed. Cir. June 16, 2015). “It is well settled that [a] claim limitation that actually uses the word ‘means’ invokes a rebuttable presumption that § 112, [¶] 6 applies.” Apex Inc. v. Raritan Comput., Inc., 325 F.3d 1364, 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (quotation omitted). And, it is equally understood that “a claim term that does not use ‘means’ will trigger the rebuttable presumption that § 112, [¶] 6 does not apply.” Id. at 1371 (quotation omitted). But this presumption against the application of § 112, ¶ 6 to a claim term lacking the word “means” can be overcome if a party can “demonstrate[] that the claim term fails to ‘recite sufficiently definite structure’ or else recites ‘function without reciting sufficient structure for performing that function.’” Williamson, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10082, at  (quoting Watts v. XL Sys., Inc., 232 F.3d 877, 880 (Fed. Cir. 2000)). “In undertaking this analysis, we ask if the claim language, read in light of the specification, recites sufficiently definite structure to avoid § 112, ¶ 6.” Robert Bosch, LLC v. Snap-On Inc., 769 F.3d 1094, 1099 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (citing Inventio AG v. Thyssenkrupp Elevator Ams. Corp., 649 F.3d 1350, 1357 (Fed. Cir. 2011)). In this case, there is no dispute that the term “compliance mechanism” does not include the word “means.” The parties also agree that the claim language recites functions for the “compliance mechanism” term. But, the parties dispute whether the claims, read in light of the specification, only “recite function without reciting suffiMEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. 9 CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. cient structure for performing that function.” Williamson, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 10082, at . 2 Media Rights does not dispute that “compliance mechanism” has no commonly understood meaning and is not generally viewed by one skilled in the art to connote a particular structure. To prevent the application of § 112, ¶ 6, Media Rights analogizes the “compliance mechanism” term to the “modernizing device” term described in Inventio, which we held was not a means-plus-function term based on extensive structural description in the specification. 649 F.3d at 1357–59. In Inventio, we found that the term “modernizing device”—not a commonly understood term—was used to describe an electrical circuit, which we found connotes sufficient structure when coupled with a detailed description of the circuit’s operation. Id. at 1358 (citing Mass. Inst. of Tech. v. Abacus Software, 462 F.3d 1344, 1355–56 (Fed. Cir. 2006)). Because “the claims indicate[d] that ‘modernizing device’ functions as an electrical circuit that receives signals, processes signals, and outputs signals to other components” and the specification “depict[ed] the modernizing device and its internal components,” “show[ed] how the elements were connected together,” and further described how these components 2 Media Rights also argues that the district court erred in its analysis because it failed to consider the claim language in light of the specification when determining that “compliance mechanism” was a means-plus-function term. Media Rights is correct that the district court should have considered the entire intrinsic record when assessing whether “compliance mechanism” invokes § 112, ¶ 6. But, as discussed below, because the specification does not recite any identifiable structure for the “compliance mechanism” term, the district court’s failure to consider the intrinsic record at that initial stage was harmless. 10 MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. perform the claimed functions, we concluded that “modernizing device” was not a means-plus-function limitation. Id. at 1358–59. Here, unlike Inventio, the claims do not use the term “compliance mechanism” as a substitute for an electrical circuit, or anything else that might connote a definite structure. Rather, the claims simply state that the “compliance mechanism” can perform various functions. A review of the intrinsic record does not change this conclusion. The written description only depicts and describes how what is referred to as the “copyright compliance mechanism” is connected to various parts of the system, how the “copyright compliance mechanism” functions, and the potential—though not mandatory—functional components of the “copyright compliance mechanism.” See ’033 Patent col. 18:57–col. 19:5; col. 20:32–49; Fig. 3; Fig. 5B. None of these passages, however, define “compliance mechanism” in specific structural terms. And, the addition of the term “copyright compliance mechanism” in the specification only confuses the issue further. Media Rights does not contend that “copyright compliance mechanism” is the equivalent of the electrical circuit detailed in the written description at issue in Inventio. Indeed, Media Rights asserts that the “copyright compliance mechanism”—the only “compliance mechanism” referenced outside the claims and the summary of the invention, and the only one depicted in the figures to which it points—is narrower than the structure it claims as the “compliance mechanism.” Without more, we cannot find that the claims, when read in light of the specification, provide sufficient structure for the “compliance mechanism” term. Media Rights attempts to avoid this conclusion by arguing that the specification recits sufficient structure under Inventio because it describes how the “compliance mechanism” is connected to and interacts with the other components of the system, what processes the “compliance MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. 11 CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. mechanism” performs, and what structural subcomponents might comprise the “compliance mechanism.” We disagree. Media Rights is correct that the Court in Inventio considered how the “modernizing device” was connected to other claimed components of the system. Id. at 1358. But this description alone was not sufficient to avoid the application of § 112, ¶ 6. Rather, it was the specification’s disclosure regarding how the “modernizing device” and its internal components operated as a circuit, which we had recognized in prior cases to connote sufficient structure, that was the basis for this Court’s conclusion that “modernizing device” was not a means-plusfunction term. Id. at 1358–59. In Inventio, moreover, the Court was applying our now-superseded case law, which imposed a heavy presumption against finding a claim term to be in means-plus-function format. Id. at 1356 (noting that “the presumption flowing from the absence of the term ‘means’ is a strong one that is not readily overcome”). Because we apply no such heavy presumption here, and the description of the structure to which Media Rights points is far less detailed than in Inventio, we do not believe Inventio carries the weight Media Rights attaches to it. We have never found that the term “mechanism”— without more—connotes an identifiable structure; certainly, merely adding the modifier “compliance” to that term would not do so either. See Mass. Inst. of Tech, 462 F.3d at 1354 (explaining that “[t]he term ‘mechanism’ standing alone connotes no more structure than the terms ‘means,’” and thus, the Court should consider whether the adjectival modifier carries a generally understood structural meaning in the art). Nothing in the written description of the ’033 Patent adds sufficiently to the meaning of the term’s structure; it only describes the term’s function and interaction with other parts in the system. See ’033 Patent col. 3:41–43 (noting that Fig. 3 depicts a diagram of various functional components of a copyright compli12 MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. ance mechanism); col. 8:32–63 (describing the functions of the copyright compliance mechanism’s components); col. 13:20–55 (detailing the use of custom media device drivers in a copyright compliance mechanism that receives a media file); col. 21:14–46 (explaining that Fig. 5B illustrates the computer system used to implement the invention, wherein the copyright compliance mechanism is coupled to playback application and the wave shim driver). This disclosure fails to provide sufficient structure for “compliance mechanism.” See Robert Bosch, 769 F.3d at 1099–1100 (finding that the specification’s description of how the “program recognition device” connects and functions with various components was insufficient to provide structure to the “program recognition device” term). Accordingly, we find that the district court was correct to conclude “compliance mechanism” is a means-plusfunction limitation. Because “compliance mechanism” is a means-plus- function term, we now must “attempt to construe the disputed claim term by identifying the ‘corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification’ to which the claim term will be limited.” Id. at 1097 (quoting Welker Bearing Co. v. PHD, Inc., 550 F.3d 1090, 1097 (Fed. Cir. 2008)). Where there are multiple claimed functions, as there are in this case, the patentee must disclose adequate corresponding structure to perform all of the claimed functions. Noah Sys., Inc. v. Intuit Inc., 675 F.3d 1302, 1318–19 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (“[W]here a disclosed algorithm supports some, but not all, of the functions associated with a means-plus-function limitation, we treat the specification as if no algorithm has been disclosed at all. In such instances, we are not faced with a disclosure which addresses itself to an identifiable function, but arguably does so inadequately.”). “If we are unable to identify any ‘corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification,’ the claim term is indefinite.” Robert Bosch, 769 F.3d at 1097 (quoting Noah MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. 13 CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. Sys., 675 F.3d at 1312); see also EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC v. AT&T Mobility LLC, 785 F.3d 616, 621 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (“Means-plus-function claim limitations under § 112 ¶ 6 must satisfy the definiteness requirement of § 112 ¶ 2.”). Here, the parties agree that the “compliance mechanism” performs four functions: controlling data output by diverting a data pathway; monitoring the controlled data pathway; managing an output path by diverting a data pathway; and stopping the play of media content. See Media Rights, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176475, at . The question is whether the specification discloses adequate structure to achieve all four of the claimed functions. See Noah Sys., 675 F.3d at 1311 (“Even if the specification discloses a ‘corresponding structure,’ the disclosure must be adequate; the patent’s specification must provide ‘an adequate disclosure showing what is meant by that [claim] language.’” (quoting In re Donaldson Co., 16 F.3d 1189, 1195 (Fed. Cir. 1994))). Because these functions are computer-implemented functions, moreover, the structure disclosed in the specification must be more than a general purpose computer or microprocessor. Aristocrat Techs. Austl. Pty Ltd. v. Int’l Game Tech., 521 F.3d 1328, 1333 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (citing WMS Gaming, Inc. v. Int’l Game Tech., 184 F.3d 1339 (Fed. Cir. 1999)). Instead, we require that the specification disclose an algorithm for performing the claimed function. See Net MoneyIN, Inc. v. VeriSign, Inc., 545 F.3d 1359, 1367 (Fed. Cir. 2008). The algorithm may be expressed as a mathematical formula, in prose, as a flow chart, or in any other manner that provides sufficient structure. Noah, 675 F.3d at 1312 (citing Finisar Corp. v. DirecTV Grp., Inc., 523 F.3d 1323, 1340 (Fed. Cir. 2008)). Here, the specification fails to disclose an operative algorithm for both the “controlling data output” and “managing output path” functions. These two functions both require diverting a data pathway. Media Rights 14 MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. argues that the specification discloses an algorithm for performing this diversion at col. 11:37–12:20, with its recitation of C++ source code that can be implemented to perform the function. To determine if this disclosure of software code is sufficient, the Court in this case “needs expert witness testimony to determine what that source code discloses at an algorithmic level,” as Media Rights conceded at oral argument. Oral Arg. at 14:40–47, available at http://oralarguments.cafc.uscourts.gov/default .aspx?fl=2014-1218.mp3. Here, there is unrebutted expert testimony that this code only returns various error messages. The cited algorithm does not, accordingly, explain how to perform the diverting function, making the disclosure inadequate. See Typhoon Touch Techs., Inc. v. Dell, Inc., 659 F.3d 1376, 1385 (Fed. Cir. 2011) (“[T]he patent need only disclose sufficient structure for a person of skill in the field to provide an operative software program for the specified function.”). Because it fails to disclose any other algorithm that performs the diversion function, the specification of the ’033 Patent fails to disclose sufficient structure for the “compliance mechanism” term. Additionally, the specification does not disclose sufficient structure for the “monitoring” function. Media Rights alleges that the specification discloses a set of rules at col. 18:33–48, which the “copyright compliance mechanism” applies to monitor the data pathway to ensure there is no unauthorized recording of electronic media. But, this cited portion of the specification provides no detail about the rules themselves or how the “copyright compliance mechanism” determines whether the rules are being enforced. ’033 Patent col. 18:38–41 (explaining that the copyright compliance mechanism will review a portion of a media file in order to verify that the rules are enforced); col. 18:42–44 (explaining that this process will continue “until the media file’s contents have been presented in their entirety”). In the absence of any further MEDIA RIGHTS TECHNOLOGIES v. 15 CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL CORP. disclosure, we also find that the specification fails to disclose sufficient structure for the “monitoring” function. Accordingly, the district court did not err when it determined that this term is indefinite. 3