Court Opinion

ID: 9781991
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 17:48:24.598009+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:34:44.079681
License: Public Domain

DYK, Circuit Judge,
concurring-in-part and dissenting-in-part.
Although I agree with the majority with respect to infringement, I would find the patents-at-issue invalid for indefiniteness, and respectfully dissent from the majority’s contrary holding. Because I would hold the patents invalid for indefiniteness, I find it unnecessary to reach any of the other invalidity challenges.
The Patent Act requires that claims “particularly point[ ] out and distinctly claim[ ] the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.” 35 U.S.C. § 112. A claim term is not indefinite simply because “it poses a difficult issue of claim construction”; rather, the claims are indefinite “only if reasonable efforts at claim construction prove futile.” Exxon Research & Eng’g Co. v. United States, 265 F.3d 1371, 1375 (Fed.Cir.2001). In other words, “if reasonable efforts at claim construction result in a definition that does not provide sufficient particularity and clarity to inform skilled artisans of the bounds of the claim, the claim is insolubly ambiguous and invalid for indefiniteness.” Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., 537 F.3d 1357, 1371 (Fed.Cir. 2008) (citing Halliburton Energy Servs., Inc. v. M-I LLC, 514 F.3d 1244, 1249-51 (Fed.Cir.2008)).
Here, the district court construed the term “controlled environment” to mean “controlling one or more of humidity, temperature, and airflow in the curing barn, in a manner different from conventional curing, in order to substantially prevent the formation of TSNAs.” See Star Scientific, Inc. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 8:01-cv0154-MJG, slip op. at 2 (D.Md. Mar. 31, 2004). The majority concludes that “a person of skill in the art of tobacco curing would possess adequate understanding to manipulate these variables to create a controlled environment” because “tobacco curing variables are well known to the tobacco industry.” Maj. op. at 1374.
The majority characterizes the patents as “explaining] that ‘the controlled conditions described herein [are] according to conventional methods commonly and commercially used in the U.S.’ ” Id. at 1374 (quoting '649 patent, col.6 11.16-18). But that is the opposite of what the patents actually state. The patents state:
In this disclosure, tobacco that has been “conventionally cured” is tobacco that has been air-cured or flue-cured, without the controlled conditions described herein, according to conventional methods commonly and commercially used in the U.S.
'649 patent, col.6 11.14-18; '401 patent, col.6 11.19-23. Thus, far from equating the *1380claimed “controlled environment” to conventional curing, the patents make clear that conventional curing is conducted “without the controlled conditions described herein.” Id. (emphasis added).
The specifications elsewhere directly contradict the majority’s conclusion, explaining that the claimed “controlled environment” is something different from conventional curing methods. The specifications criticize conventional curing processes on the ground that they “do not provide suitable conditions (e.g., adequate oxygen flow) and fail to prevent an anaerobic condition in the vicinity of the tobacco leaves.” '649 patent, col.7 11.65-67; '401 patent, col.8 11.2 — 4. Specifically, the specifications characterize the conventional air curing process as “subjecting the [tobacco] to air curing without controlling the ambient conditions (e.g., air flow through the barn, temperature, humidity, and the like).” '649 patent, col.3 11.20-24; '401 patent, col.3 11.24-28. Indeed, the patents teach that “the practice of tobacco curing is more of an art than a science, because curing conditions during any given cure must be adjusted to take into account” many variables. '649 patent, eol.6 11.35-37; '401 patent, col.6 11.39— 41.
To determine whether a claim is invalid for indefiniteness, a court must determine “whether those skilled in the art would understand what is claimed when the claim is read in light of the specification.” Orthokinetics, Inc. v. Safety Travel Chairs, Inc., 806 F.2d 1565, 1576 (Fed.Cir.1986). Expert testimony may be helpful in making this determination. See Datamize, LLC v. Plumtree Software, Inc., 417 F.3d 1342, 1348 (Fed.Cir.2005) (holding that a court may “rely on extrinsic evidence, such as expert testimony,” to determine whether the claims are indefinite) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); Seattle Box Co., Inc. v. Indus. Crating & Packing, Inc., 731 F.2d 818, 826 (Fed.Cir.1984) (stating that, in making legal determinations, the court may rely on expert testimony to aid in understanding the patent). Here, R. J. Reynolds’ expert testified that a person of ordinary skill in the art would be unable to draw the line between conventional curing methods and the “controlled environment” required by the claims. J.A. 46543-45. Specifically, he noted that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the “controlled environment” limitation to require the “control [of] humidity, temperature, and airflow in a way that’s different from [conventional curing processes], and with the objective and the purpose of substantially preventing the formation of TSNAs.” J.A. 46543. He noted, however, that the patents do not provide sufficient guidance for one of skill in the art to determine the ranges of temperature, humidity, and airflow “covered by the [term] controlled environment that are also not covered by the conventional curing processes.” J.A. 46545. Further, when pressed on the issue, Star’s expert could not provide any guidance regarding the difference between the airflow in a conventional curing process and that required in a “controlled environment,” noting that it would be impossible to pinpoint values for the temperature, airflow, and humidity required by the claims because barn conditions are continually changing. J.A. 45680.
In sum, the patents describe the claimed “controlled environment” as something different from conventional curing methods, but fail to explain those differences in a way that would permit a skilled artisan to determine the bounds of the claims. To add to the confusion, the patents define conventional curing methods as air-curing or flue-curing “without the controlled conditions” required by the claims. Under this court’s established test for definiteness, such circularity is insufficient to in*1381form skilled artisans of the bounds of the claims.