Opinion ID: 811856
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Four-Sided, Generally Rectangular Clamp

Text: In Norgren I, this court found that “[t]he ‘generally rectangular’ language pertains to the overall shape of the flange.” 336 F. App’x at 995. While Norgren I specifically addressed the claim language related to the flange, this NORGREN v. ITC 9 court recognizes—consistent with our claim construction in Norgren I—that the clamp as a whole, and not merely portions of it, must be four-sided and generally rectangular. The dispute centers not on the construction of the claims but on the factual question of whether the old-style SMC connector (shown in the figure below, adapted from the Intervenors’ Brief at page 13) is four-sided and generally rectangular. A D B C As a preliminary matter, Norgren questions whether SMC and the Commission Investigative Staff proved that the old-style SMC connector existed prior to 1993—when the application for the ’392 Patent was filed. This argument is easily dismissed. First, Norgren made no objection to that exhibit when SMC offered it as representative of a prior art connector. Commission Op. at 8; see Hr’g Tr. 438-39, Nov. 27, 2007 (“RPX-002, move that for admis10 NORGREN v. ITC sion. And this is a ’84 SMC connector.”). Moreover, the record contains the testimony of Timothy Kuchta that “he recognized RPX-002 as an SMC old-style connector.” Certain Connecting Devices (“Quick Clamps”) for Use with Modular Compressed Air Conditioning Units, Including Filters, Regulators, and Lubricators (“FRL’s”) That Are Part of Larger Pneumatic Sys. and the FRL Units They Connect, Inv. No. 337-TA-587, slip op. at 13 (U.S. Int’l Trade Comm’n Aug. 5, 2010) (Final Initial Determination); see Hr’g Tr. 512, Nov. 27, 2007. Thus, substantial evidence supports the finding that the old-style SMC connector was in existence prior to 1993. The Commission’s finding that the old-style SMC connector is both four-sided and generally rectangular is also supported by substantial evidence. First, Norgren’s expert, James Wiskamp (“Wiskamp”), in the first Commission proceeding admitted in a deposition that the only difference between the invention claimed in the ’392 Patent and the old-style SMC connector was the hinge. While Wiskamp later described the shape of the old-style SMC connector differently, the ALJ in the initial proceeding considered Wiskamp’s attempt to distance himself from his deposition statement not credible, and the Commission on remand found no reason to depart from that finding. The Commission had an adequate basis on which to make such a finding. Second, the Commission properly relied on Trumper’s testimony that the four sides of the old-style SMC connector are those required for its function and that the shape formed by those sides is generally rectangular. This court rejects Norgren’s argument that Trumper was not an appropriate expert because he was not familiar with the relevant industry and was overly-qualified. The person of ordinary skill in the art was determined to be “someone who would have had several years of industry experience working with [Filters, Regulators, and Lubricators] and NORGREN v. ITC 11 connectors or would have had an engineering degree with two years of industry experience.” Commission Op. at 26 (internal quotation marks omitted). Trumper was a professor of mechanical engineering at MIT and had experience with pneumatic systems and mechanical connections. Because the person having ordinary skill in the art is a “theoretical construct” and is “not descriptive of some particular individual,” “a person of exceptional skill in the art” should not be disqualified because he or she is “not ordinary enough.” See Endress + Hauser, Inc. v. Hawk Measurement Sys. Pty. Ltd., 122 F.3d 1040, 1042 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (emphasis in original). Additionally, Trumper was accepted as an expert in the first proceeding before the ALJ without objection. Thus, the Commission was within its discretion to allow Trumper to testify as an expert and to credit his testimony. See id. Third, the Commission based its conclusion on an examination of the physical exhibit of the old-style SMC connector. The four outer “sides” of the old-style SMC connector are labeled A-D in the above figure. And the Commission found those four sides to be essential in performing the clamping function of the old-style SMC connector in the same manner as the new-style SMC connector previously found to infringe. Moreover, these four sides are a substantial part of the outer portion of the old-style SMC clamp, and hence are decisive when defining its shape. The Commission concluded that the old-style SMC connector was not only generally rectangular but also four-sided within the meaning of the claim term. It reached that conclusion based on Trumper’s testimony and its examination of the old-style SMC connector that was placed in evidence. From that record, the Commission found that four sides of the old-style SMC connector were essential to its functionality as a connector, notwithstanding the existence of other indents, cutouts, protru12 NORGREN v. ITC sions and other non-functional structural elements and met the “four-sided” limitation of the claim. The dissent takes a highly restrictive view of the Commission’s ruling and disregards the functioning of the device in counting all surface elements as “sides.” But there is nothing in the record to compel that approach or, more significantly, to conclude that substantial evidence does not support the Commission’s determination. In Norgren I, it was undisputed that the flanges were “generally rectangular” despite the fact that sloped sides replaced corners of the rectangle. See 336 F. App’x at 995-96. The Commission recognized that the old-style SMC connector was characterized by the same type of deviation from a “precise rectangle,” i.e., missing corners, as the flanges in Norgren I. Commission Op. at 20. Whether the inside, the outside, or the entire thickness of sides A through D in the above figure is considered, the shape of the clamp is a rectangle, absent the corners. The absence of the corners is part of the shape of the old-style SMC connector as a whole, but it does not detract from its generally rectangular configuration. Similarly, the thickness or protrusion of the sides does not detract from its generally rectangular shape. While a triangular clamp, a circular clamp, or even a clamp with four sides arranged as a trapezoid would not qualify as “generally rectangular,” the old-style SMC connector does. The responsibility of this court is not to re-weigh de novo the evidence on close factual questions; it is to review the decision of the Commission for substantial evidence. This court concludes that the Commission’s findings are supported by substantial evidence because “a reasonable mind might accept” that the old-style SMC connector is four-sided and generally rectangular. Universal Camera, 340 U.S. at 477 (quoting Consol. Edison, 305 U.S. at 229) (internal quotation marks omitted). This NORGREN v. ITC 13 court finds no basis to disturb the decision of the Commission.