Opinion ID: 732460
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Inducement to Infringe

Text: 48 Micro argues that the district court clearly erred in finding no inducement to infringe the asserted claims. Specifically, it argues that the district court incorrectly found that the Cactus Feeders machine did not infringe the claims because its use of molasses failed to meet the liquid carrier limitation of the claims in question. In support of its argument, Micro states that U.S. Patent 3,437,075 (the Hawes patent), cited in the '971 patent, identifies molasses as a liquid carrier. Lextron responds that the district court correctly found no direct infringement and hence no inducement to infringe because molasses is not a liquid carrier as used with the accused machines. 49 There can be no inducement to infringe absent direct infringement. Met-Coil Sys. Corp. v. Korners Unlimited, Inc., 803 F.2d 684, 231 USPQ 474, 476 (Fed.Cir.1986). The district court did not clearly err in its finding that molasses failed to meet the liquid carrier limitation of the claims in question. The record supports the conclusion that molasses, when used as a liquid microingredient, was not a liquid carrier. The Hawes patent, which was part of the relevant prior art, refers to molasses as a liquid microingredient, rather than a liquid carrier. Thus, the district court did not clearly err in finding that the Cactus Feeder's machines combined microingredients with liquid microingredients, rather than mixing microingredients with a liquid carrier, as required by the claims.