Opinion ID: 413317
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Merits: Merely Colorably Different?

Text: 92 The district court, as we noted above, reached the merits of Trans Tech's motion and ruled on the question whether the production of the second Trans Tech product would violate the 1978 consent decree. Adhering to the rules expounded by this Court in Interdynamics I, supra, 653 F.2d at 98-99, the court compared the proposed device with the original Wolf product (the subject of the consent decree) and applied the doctrine of equivalents:  '[I]f two devices do the same work in substantially the same way, and accomplish substantially the same result, they are the same, even though different in name, form or shape,'  Interdynamics II, supra note 1, slip op. at 4 (quoting Interdynamics I, supra, 653 F.2d at 99). The court proceeded to determine that the second Trans Tech product will do the same work in substantially the same way to accomplish the identical same result as the Wolf product; therefore, the former was no more than colorably different from the latter. Interdynamics II, supra, note 1, slip op. at 5. Based on this finding, the district judge ruled that the making, using, or selling of the second Trans Tech product would be a civil contempt of the 1978 injunction. Interdynamics, Inc. v. Firma Wolf, No. 78-647 (D.N.J. Oct. 2, 1981) (order and judgment holding Trans Tech in contempt). 93 Trans Tech strongly criticizes the approach adopted by the district court, claiming that (1) the second Trans Tech product can neither be in contempt of the consent decree nor infringe the Barnard patent because the Barnard patent does not claim a defroster kit employing a dispenser to feed out the heating element; (2) the trial court erred in applying the doctrine of equivalents without referring to the claims enumerated in the Barnard patent; (3) the doctrine of file-wrapper estoppel 34 precludes application of the doctrine of equivalents; and (4) the court erred in ruling on the contempt question without comparing the second Trans Tech product to the Barnard patent because the consent judgment enjoined Trans Tech only from infringing any claim of Barnard United States patent 3,757,087. In addition, Trans Tech insists that its new rear-window defroster is more than colorably different from the Wolf product. 94 Trans Tech, however, has totally ignored the impact of our decision in Interdynamics I, supra. This panel is not at liberty to overrule the decision of the prior panel; rather, Interdynamics I is binding upon us both as a matter of precedent and as the law of the case. 35 Interdynamics I required the district court, in a contempt proceeding, to compare the product at issue with the Wolf product, not with the patented device, and to evaluate any differences between the two inventions by applying the doctrine of equivalents. The district court here did precisely as we instructed, and we will not now allow relitigation of the questions of law decided in Interdynamics I. Thus, Trans Tech can prevail in this action only by showing that the district court committed reversible error in finding the second Trans Tech product merely colorably different from the Wolf product. 95 At the hearing before the district judge, counsel for Trans Tech elaborated various differences between the second Trans Tech product and the Wolf product: (1) the Wolf product had a cover sheet, whereas the new Trans Tech invention did not; (2) the Wolf product utilized a backer or transfer sheet absent from the second Trans Tech product; and (3) the Wolf product bore two layers of adhesive, one layer on either surface of the heating element, but the second Trans Tech product had adhesive on only one surface of the heating strip. Hearing at 61, App. 409. Moreover, Trans Tech argued, the new defroster was easier to install, id. at 61-63, App. 409-11, and less expensive to manufacture, id. at 65, App. 413, than was the Wolf product. The district court, however, found these asserted differences merely colorable under the doctrine of equivalents prescribed by this Court in Interdynamics I, supra, 653 F.2d at 98-99. 96 In reviewing a finding of equivalence or infringement, this Court must accept the district court's determination unless it is clearly erroneous. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co. v. Berwick Industries, Inc., 532 F.2d 330, 332-33 (3d Cir.1976). See Devex Corp. v. General Motors Corp., 667 F.2d 347, 359 (3d Cir.1981) (two cases), --- U.S. ----, cert. granted, 102 S.Ct. 2267, 73 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1982), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 2270, 73 L.Ed.2d 1285 (1982); Hadco Products, Inc. v. Frank Dini Co., 401 F.2d 462, 464 (3d Cir.1968). The Supreme Court has proclaimed that 97 [a] finding of equivalence is a determination of fact .... Like any other issue of fact, final determination requires a balancing of credibility, persuasiveness and weight of evidence. It is to be decided by the trial court and that court's decision, under general principles of appellate review, should not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. 98 Graver Tank & Mfg. Co., Inc. v. Linde Air Products Co., 339 U.S. 605, 609-10, 70 S.Ct. 854, 857, 94 L.Ed. 1097 (1950). 36 99 This Court has held that [i]t is the responsibility of an appellate court to accept the ultimate factual determination of the fact-finder unless that determination either (1) is completely devoid of minimum evidentiary support displaying some hue of credibility, or (2) bears no rational relationship to the supporting evidentiary data. Krasnov v. Dinan, 465 F.2d 1298, 1302 (3d Cir.1972). One of these two conditions must exist before we will reverse a finding of fact as clearly erroneous. Id. 100 Applying this scope of review, we cannot conclude that the district court committed reversible error in finding the second Trans Tech product to be merely colorably different from, or essentially equivalent to, the Wolf product. Both products utilize twin strips of conducting tape; both devices enable the user to lay out a parallel array of heating elements, at a fixed spatial interval; both sets of heating elements adhere to the rear windows of automobiles by means of a pressure-sensitive adhesive coating. The Wolf product protects the adhesive-coated heating elements with separate top and bottom sheets; the protective function served by those layers is approximated in the second Trans Tech product by the low-adhesive backing of the conductor mounted on the mandrel. In short, then, we cannot say that the district court's finding of equivalence either lacks any hue of credibility or bears no rational relationship to the supporting evidentiary data, Krasnov v. Dinan, supra, 465 F.2d at 1302. 101 We will affirm the judgment of the district court. 102