Court Opinion

ID: 9488424
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 12:44:51.522379+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:52:53.029689
License: Public Domain

LOURIE, Circuit Judge,
with whom Circuit Judges RICH and PLAGER join, dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s disposition of this case. I do so because the trial judge did not instruct the jury concerning the doctrine of equivalents (“DOE”) in accordance with our opinion today.1 The trial judge did not tell the jury that the principal issue in evaluating infringement under the DOE is the substantiality of the difference(s) between the accused subject matter and that which is claimed. He emphasized the primacy of the function, way, and result (“FWR”) test. We have today held that this is incorrect. In view of these omissions, I believe we must vacate the decision on the basis of plain error in the jury instructions and remand for retrial on the DOE on the basis of instructions consistent with the court’s opinion. See 5A James W. MooRE, Moore’s Federal Practioe ¶ 51.04 (2d ed. 1995).
I agree with the majority’s conclusion that more is required for application of the DOE than meeting the FWR tests. For many years the courts have been focusing on FWR as the hallmark of a DOE analysis, citing Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Prods. Co., 339 U.S. 605, 70 S.Ct. 854, 94 L.Ed. 1097, 85 USPQ 328 (1950). For reasons I will elaborate on below, such a test has been inadequate, leading to confusion. Moreover, Graver did not prescribe this as the test for the DOE. The Supreme Court in Graver noted that equivalence is not a “prisoner of a formula,” id. at 609, 70 S.Ct. at 856, and that other factors are involved, including whether the invention was a pioneering one, whether the defendant had engaged in independent research or was an imitator, whether those skilled in the art would have known of the interchangeability of the substituted ingredients, and the substantiality of the difference(s) between the accused and patented materials.
I.
In view of the majority’s determination that something more than FWR is required *1546for application of the DOE, with which I heartily concur, I wish to explain further why I believe FWR is inadequate as the sole set of criteria for evaluation of infringement under the DOE. Patentable inventions comprise “any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. ...” 35 U.S.C. § 101 (1988). Except for process inventions, which perforce must be defined by their component procedural steps, inventions are generally defined by structure, ie., by what they are, rather than by what they do. FWR is most useful in defining what an invention does, but it does not always tell what an invention is. See International Visual Corp. v. Crown Metal Mfg. Co., 991 F.2d 768, 775, 26 USPQ2d 1588, 1593 (Fed.Cir.1993) (Lourie, J., concurring). A statement of the “function” of a composition of matter, a manufacture, or a machine is not a definition of such an invention. The recitation of the “result” of an invention’s operation surely may not be an adequate definition of what the invention is. The “way” the invention achieves its result usually describes the means or mechanism by which it operates, but it does not reliably tell what the invention is. That is what structural terms in claims are for. The dictionary defines “way” as, inter alia, “the mode in which something is done or happens.” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 2587 (3d ed. 1986). That is not a definition of an invention.
One of the reasons why the courts have exhibited so much confusion over the DOE is the near exclusive focus on FWR, and the fact that the meaning of the word “way” is so obscure. The substantiality of the differences between a patented and an accused device has often been ignored or subsumed under the “way” component. Unfortunately, however, the “way” component is often satisfied when the substantiality criterion is not. Devices that perform the same function to achieve the same result in the same way may be very different. The result is that devices which should not be accorded the benefit of the DOE because of the substantiality of their differences from what is claimed can be improperly considered to be equivalent if only FWR are considered.
The field of chemistry is one in which this problem may often arise. Ironically, Graver Tank, the case that is our template, is a chemical case. Manganese silicate, the material substituted for magnesium silicate, is obviously a chemical, and the relationship between manganese and magnesium does raise questions of chemistry. However, the claims in that case are to a composition, more like those for a mechanical invention, in which one component is substituted for another. Thus, the function and result of that substitution, and even the way in which the questioned component operates, were able to be readily evaluated.
However, much of today’s chemical research, and hence invention, consists of new chemical compounds defined by structure, and having a variety of chemical substituents, or structural pieces. New chemical compounds differ structurally from old compounds (that is what makes them new) and yet they may perform the same function (have the same use), provide the same result, and do so in the same way. The fact that they do so in the same way does not make them substantially the same in the way they are defined, ie., by structure. I emphasized this point in my concurring opinion in Genentech, Inc. v. Wellcome Foundation, 29 F.3d 1555, 31 USPQ2d 1161 (Fed.Cir.1994), in which I pointed out that a protein containing 446 amino acids could not reasonably be held to infringe a claim to a material with 527 amino acids. The difference between the materials is enormous, irrespective of FWR. One can also consider the example of the well-known analgesics aspirin and ibuprofen. These compounds have the same function (to provide analgesia, anti-inflammatory activity, and lower temperature), do so in the same way (by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis), and give the same results (kill pain, relieve inflammation, and lower fever). Yet, they have different structures, which makes them different compounds, and no knowledgeable person would consider that a claim to aspirin would be infringed by the sale of ibuprofen.
Moreover, if, following our guidance in Pennwalt Corp. v. Durand-Wayland, Inc., 833 F.2d 931, 4 USPQ2d 1737 (Fed.Cir.1987) *1547(in banc), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 961, 108 S.Ct. 1226, 99 L.Ed.2d 426 (1988), one tries to evaluate infringement applying only FWR according to the “all elements” rule, one encounters a practical difficulty because one generally does not know the “way” a particular substituent operates. One only knows the function, way, and result achieved with the total compound. This is different from electronic and mechanical elements because one normally knows why each electronic or mechanical element is present in a product and what it does. Thus, it is essential that a DOE analysis focus on more than an FWR evaluation. Failure to do so can lead to the wrong result.
II.
However, I disagree with the majority’s characterization of the “substantiality” issue. The majority emphasizes that it is the added factor prescribed by the Supreme Court in Graver Tank, the others being subsumed within it, rather than being only one of the added factors. The opinion states that the substantiality of the differences factor encompasses all the others, including the FWR test, and that the fact-finder must make a determination on this issue. I agree that substantiality is paramount. I also agree with the majority that the FWR test, along with the extent and number of differences, is an element in determining the substantiality of the differences between the invention and the accused product. Clearly, if the accused and claimed inventions are very different, there can be no infringement. However, the substantiality of the differences is still only one of the factors according to Graver, arguably the most important factor, which a court should consider in deciding whether to apply the DOE.
Graver Tank indicates that these other factors include whether independent development or copying has occurred, the knowledge or lack of knowledge of those skilled in the art of the interchangeability of contested elements, and the pioneer status of the claimed invention. Given the importance of claims in informing the public of what is patented, I would also include as added factors any behavior of the patentee that impairs the ability of the public to reasonably understand from the claims what is patented. Among these could be disclosure of an unclaimed embodiment in the patent specification, thereby leading the public to believe that what is unclaimed is disclaimed, when it is that unclaimed embodiment that the patentee later seeks to hold as an infringement under the DOE. See Unique Concepts, Inc. v. Brown, 939 F.2d 1558, 1562-63, 19 USPQ2d 1500, 1504 (Fed.Cir.1991). I would also consider as a factor the failure of the patentee to seek reissue of the patent to cover such embodiment if it knew of the potential infringement during the permissible statutory time period, see 35 U.S.C. § 251.2
I also believe that the majority misconstrues the meaning of the factors other than the substantiality of the differences. The majority limits the significance of copying to being part of the evaluation of substantiality. It denies that intent is meaningful and states that lack of independent development is not part of the equivalence evaluation. I believe this is incorrect. The substantiality evaluation, as noted, relates only to the difference(s) between the claimed and accused items, viz., how many differences there are and how substantial they are. Whether an accused infringer has copied or has independently developed its product is a separate matter relating to what the accused did and why, rather than how close its product is to the claimed invention.
One may readily envision a spectrum consisting of copying on one extreme, independent development on the other, and designing around somewhere in between. The latter two activities are clearly praiseworthy, being consistent with the goals of the patent law. Independent development involves doing one’s own work, designing one’s own product rather than attempting to copy and make minor changes in a patented product. It requires significant effort, which is readily provable. Copying and designing around are *1548different from independent development. Both involve focusing on the patented invention and attempting to appropriate its valuable features. The difference between copying and designing around is often a matter of degree, depending upon whether one succeeds or not in getting far enough away from the claims to avoid a finding of infringement. Both, however, have the claimed invention in mind and attempt to make as little change in the invention as possible to retain or improve on the properties of the invention, while avoiding infringement. But neither is to be confused with independent development.
Independent development is not, as the majority states, dependent upon lack of knowledge of the patented invention. This rarely happens in a world of instantaneous public information of new developments in just about every field. Inventors who engage in independent development almost always do so with knowledge of others’ inventions, but they still try to make their own inventions. This is neither copying nor designing around.
Distance from the claims of a patent (the substantiality of the differences factor) and the history and purpose of one’s product development (intent) are thus not synonymous, as the majority’s linking of these issues would imply. One can make many changes such that there are substantial differences between its product and the claimed invention, while essentially copying the invention, and not have engaged in independent development. Such a “copier” might be considered to have designed around and not be held to be an infringer under the doctrine. Similarly, one can independently have developed a product that differs only insubstantially from the patented product and properly be held to infringe under the doctrine of equivalents. If the Graver Tank tests of substantiality, independent development, and copying are all to have meaning, they must be considered separately, and not be compressed into one test.
While the majority states that intent, or “bad faith,” is not part of the evaluation of infringement, it is part of the copying-independent development spectrum noted by the Supreme Court in Graver. One who attempts to copy another’s product stands in different shoes as compared with someone who attempts to independently develop his own product, but ends up close to the claims of someone else’s patent. This is surely a question of intent, and it tracks the Court’s Graver analysis in considering whether to apply the doctrine to the case at hand. The whole purpose of the doctrine is to defeat piracy and to do justice to a patentee. A pirate is one who intentionally copies a patented product, making only the most minor change to avoid literal infringement. An innocent developer who unintentionally happens to come close to the claims of a patent should be treated differently. The whole tenor of Graver Tank is to make that distinction. This factor is also distinct from the question of the substantiality of the differences. Intent to misappropriate someone else’s invention is the hallmark of a pirate, and intent must therefore not be excluded if a suitable judgment is to be made concerning the applicability of the DOE. Therefore, I believe it is the province of the court to balance all these factors to determine whether it is appropriate to apply the DOE under the circumstances of the case.
It may be feared that considering intent under the DOE may lead to inconsistent results as between two different defendants, one who copies and one who independently invents. This is not likely to occur. Even if there are multiple parties selling the same product, but differently situated regarding the way they came to the product, patentees who have lost against one such party are not likely to sue the other. Similarly, when an infringer has lost an equivalents case, another party is not likely to persist in its commercial activity unless it has substantially better equities, in which case it deserves a different result. Moreover, it is parties who suffer the consequences of patent infringement, not products, and it is not inappropriate for different results to follow different behavior of different parties. The fact that intent is irrelevant in a literal infringement determination should not be controlling in a DOE situation. An accused infringer who is operating outside the claims of a patent is entitled to have its behavior considered different*1549ly from someone who is literally within the scope of the claims.
The pioneer status of the invention, not mentioned by the majority, is also not relevant to the substantiality of the differences between the invention and the accused device. However, it should be part of the DOE analysis. It has no relation to the differences between the claims and the accused device, being only a question of the impact of the patented invention in relation to the prior art at the time the invention was made. It was mentioned by the Court in Graver and must be considered when relevant. To the extent that the fact-finder endows a patented invention with the status of being pioneering, the more the application of the doctrine of equivalents is justified. Pioneers should be given more scope of protection than inventors in a crowded art. Competitors must stay further away to be safe.
It may be felt that the above framework is highly complicated. However, it includes little that the Supreme Court did not outline and rely on in Graver. Moreover, it makes sense. The substantiality of the differences factor is key, but the other factors are part of our law and meaningful. If one is to hold a party operating outside the literal scope of one’s claims to be an infringer, contrary to the requirements of the statute, one has to be able to make a case incorporating the various elements outlined by Graver. If the Supreme Court wishes to simplify the analysis, it is of course free to do so. We are not.3
III.
Finally, I agree with Judge Plager that applicability of the doctrine should be for the court, not the jury. A finding of infringement under the DOE should properly be viewed as:
the exception, ... not the rule, for if the public comes to believe (or fear) that the language of patent claims can never be relied on, and that the doctrine of equivalents is simply the second prong of every infringement charge, regularly available to extend protection beyond the scope of the claims, then claims will cease to serve their intended purpose.
London v. Carson Pirie Scott & Co., 946 F.2d 1534, 1538, 20 USPQ2d 1456, 1458-59 (Fed.Cir.1991). See also Coleco Indus., Inc. v. United States Int’l Trade Comm’n, 573 F.2d 1247, 1258, 197 USPQ 472, 481 (CCPA 1978) (“The doctrine is an exception to the rule that patentees are limited to what they claim and is not applied in every case.”) (Rich, J., concurring). Under a proper application of these factors, the DOE should be applied only in unusual cases, to frustrate piracy. The fact-finder should principally be focused on claims, as impliedly required by 35 U.S.C. § 112. Otherwise, the meaning of the claims is diminished, contrary to the statutory scheme that a patent specification shall conclude with claims that particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention.
In making this applicability determination, the court must exercise discretion in weighing the relevant factors. This sounds like a task for a judge, an equitable determination, rather than a question for a jury. I recognize that Supreme Court case law has not reserved determination of infringement under the doctrine to the judge. Graver states that infringement is a question of fact, arguably meaning that it is triable to a jury. The Court, although not recently, has reviewed jury cases involving the doctrine and seemingly endorsed leaving its application to the jury. See Royer v. Schultz Belting Co., 135 U.S. 319, 325, 10 S.Ct. 833, 835, 34 L.Ed. 214 (1890); Winans v. Denmead, 56 U.S. (15 How.) 330, 14 L.Ed. 717 (1854).
However, the Court has not ruled in modern times, under our current practice of relying on statutory claims, as to whether the question of the applicability of the doctrine, with all the factors it outlined, must be tried to a jury when properly requested. Graver, the Court’s most recent pronouncement on *1550the doctrine, did not involve a jury. In addition, I am not aware of any Supreme Court equivalents case in the last century that involved review of a jury verdict of infringement under the DOE. Most Supreme Court eases prior to Graver involved review of cases brought as bills in equity prior to the merger of law and equity. See, e.g., Sanitary Refrigerator Co. v. Winters, 280 U.S. 30, 50 S.Ct. 9, 74 L.Ed. 147 (1929); Continental Paper Bag Co. v. Eastern Paper Bag Co., 210 U.S. 405, 414-15, 28 S.Ct. 748, 749, 52 L.Ed. 1122 (1908). Moreover, older Supreme Court cases involving the DOE that were brought at law, see, e.g. Royer, 135 U.S. at 319, 10 S.Ct. at 833, Winans, 56 U.S. (15 How.) at 330, 14 L.Ed. 717, involved patents which issued before the statutory requirement of claims that particularly and distinctly claim the invention. Act of July 8, 1870, § 26, 16 Stat. 201; see also Pennwalt, 833 F.2d at 957-59, 4 USPQ2d at 1758-60 (discussing the evolutionary role of claims in United States patent law). Thus I believe that it is not foreclosed to us to clarify the law by outlining the proper functions of the judge and jury in applying the doctrine of equivalents.
I consider that the DOE is an equitable remedy for the judge to decide whether to apply, or not to apply, perhaps after the jury has made factual findings as to all the relevant factors which the Graver opinion outlines.4 I believe that this judgment, one of suitability or appropriateness, requires weighing all the relevant factors, given any jury determinations concerning those factors. They include the substantiality of the differences, to which FWR is relevant; the copying-independent development spectrum, to which intent is relevant; the pioneering nature of the patented invention, if applicable; and others. The judge needs to decide whether, given the purpose of the doctrine to defeat piracy, a party who is more of a copier than an independent developer, has made only insubstantial changes in the claimed invention, such that, in light of all the other factors, it is appropriate to find that party to be an infringer even though its activities are literally outside the scope of the patent claims.
I would vacate the judgment of the district court and remand for a reevaluation of the question of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents consistent with the above analysis.

. The judge instructed the jury concerning the doctrine of equivalents as follows:
Hilton Davis asserts that the Warner-Jenkin-son process for making food dyes infringes the Hilton Davis patent under the doctrine of equivalents. The doctrine of equivalents exists to prevent fraud on the patent.
The concept of the doctrine of equivalents is designed to protect the patent holder from the unscrupulous infringer who appropriates the invention but avoids the literal language of the claims. In this regard, consideration must be given for the purpose for which a step is used in the claims of the patent and in defendant's processes and the functions which they perform.
You may find infringement under the doctrine of equivalents when the accused process and the claimed invention perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to yield substantially the same result even though the processes differ in name, form or shape.
Hilton Davis must prove infringement under the doctrine of equivalents by a preponderance of the legal evidence.
Though application of the doctrine of equivalents extends the protection of the patent beyond the literal words contained in the claims, it is not proper to erase the meaningful limitations of the claims on which the public is entitled to rely in avoiding infringement, and you must look to the claims section of the patent to determine the coverage and limitations of the patent.

. I do not intend this list to be an exhaustive list of factors that the court should analyze in evaluating infringement under the DOE. Other factors can be recognized and considered when relevant.

. In fact, in light of Graver, it may be that only the Supreme Court, writing without the confining strictures of Graver, can deal cleanly with this issue. Among the reasons why the bench and bar have struggled so much and so long to define the DOE are the ambiguity of the Graver opinion, the fact that many of today's patent cases are tried to juries and the Graver case did not involve a jury, and the greater complexity of today's patented high technology inventions compared with those made 50 or more years ago. Thus, Graver speaks to a time that is long past.

. Application of these factors under the DOE is especially suited to the use of special verdicts and interrogatories under Fed.R.Civ.P. 49.