Court Opinion

ID: 9474209
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 04:50:46.090939+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:43:57.537215
License: Public Domain

PAULINE NEWMAN, Circuit Judge,
concurring in part.
I agree that this case should be remanded for further findings on the question of equivalency, but I do not endorse the *1533sweeping rules of law and procedure espoused by the majority.
I.
The question before the court is the law to be applied in the contempt action brought by KSM against Jones, an adjudged infringer that had modified its infringing insulation device in an attempt to avoid an existing injunction against infringement. On the facts of this case, it is a narrow question.
The broad question of law and procedure in patent contempt actions has occasioned great diversity among the circuits. The broad question does not have a single answer applicable in all circumstances. Thus although I concur in the result reached in this case, I disagree with the dicta that the majority purports to apply in all cases.
Careful analysis of the decisions of the various circuits shows how fact-dependent these decisions have been. I know of no reason to withdraw from trial courts the authority, in their discretion, to find contempt summarily when a modified device is “merely colorably different” from the prior adjudicated device. Most of the circuits have heretofore recognized the need for discretion in district courts to handle contempt cases simply and expeditiously, when the facts warrant. The majority ruling limits this discretion.
The majority holds that it is always error simply to compare the devices and to determine whether they are “merely colorably different”. The majority holds that it is always necessary to return to the claims and to consider any questions raised of claim interpretation, prior art, and prosecution history estoppel. I agree that this is at times necessary or advisable. But I do not think it is proper for this court to impose this procedure upon courts and parties in all circumstances, including those where a trial court in its discretion does not deem it necessary to relitigate these questions, or where res judicata may apply.
I think that this court should limit its decision to the issue before it.1 This court has declared that Third Circuit law, as embodied in the Interdynamics2 cases, will not be followed. Interdynamics I and II required the district court to compare the Jones devices to determine if they were “merely colorably different”. If they were, contempt would lie; and the district court so held. By rejecting this law and procedure in all cases, whatever the facts, the majority has changed the practices of the Second, Third, and Eighth Circuits, and modified the discretionary practices of at least the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits, and of trial courts in other circuits; this is not required in order to decide the case before us.
II.
The contempt proceeding is an essential tool of the judicial and public interest in the finality of litigation. It is applicable in patent cases as in other cases. California Artificial Stone Paving Co. v. Molitor, 113 U.S. 609, 5 S.Ct. 618, 28 L.Ed. 1106 (1885). At the heart of any contempt proceeding is the circumstance that the substantive issues were finally adjudicated in prior litigation between the same parties.
Contempt “should not be resorted to where there is fair ground of doubt as to the wrongfulness of the defendant’s conduct”. Id. at 618, 5 S.Ct. at 622. When an adjudged infringer has modified the infringing device in an attempt to avoid infringement, courts have consistently first analyzed the changes in the devices, in the context of determining whether to reopen issues previously adjudicated.
In Interdynamics I the Third Circuit reasoned that if a successful patentee holding a final judgment could only attack a mod*1534ified product in a fully litigated infringement action, no matter how “colorable” the modification, this would “significantly diminish the force of a consent decree as a judgment of the court”. 653 F.2d at 97, 210 USPQ at 872. If a patentee were required to relitigate that which it had settled by consent, perhaps having made extensive compromises to obtain the settlement, then patentees would lack incentive to enter into settlements while accused infringers could obtain both favorable settlements and the right to challenge that which had been settled. The Third Circuit said that this is not only unfair, it also frustrates the public and judicial interest in finality of litigation. Id.
The Interdynamics court observed that the procedure in contempt proceedings of comparing the modified product to the infringing product is the law of several circuits, citing Siebring v. Hansen, 346 F.2d 474, 477, 145 USPQ 634, 635-636 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 382 U.S. 943, 86 S.Ct. 400, 15 L.Ed.2d 352, 147 USPQ 541 (1965); and Hopp Press, Inc. v. Joseph Freeman & Co., 323 F.2d 636, 638, 139 USPQ 141, 142 (2d Cir.1963). Interdynamics I, 653 F.2d at 99 n. 1, 210 USPQ at 870 n. 1.
In contrast to the summary proceedings facilitated by the Interdynamics decisions, the Fourth Circuit in Ransburg Electro-Coating Corp. v. Ionic Electrostatic Corp., 395 F.2d 92, 157 USPQ 662 (4th Cir.1968), cert. denied, 393 U.S. 1018, 89 S.Ct. 623, 21 L.Ed.2d 562, 160 USPQ 832 (1969), reversed the district court’s finding of contempt because it had confined its analysis to the injunctive order and found infringement without considering the scope of the prior art. In Ransburg the Fourth Circuit allowed the district court on remand to consider newly discovered prior art. In Marston v. J.C. Penney Co., 324 F.Supp. 889, 170 USPQ 25 (E.D.Va.1971), aff'd on the opinion of the district court, 469 F.2d 694, 176 USPQ 193 (4th Cir.1972), the court applied Ransburg to hold that proceedings on a contempt motion need not be summary, and that “[ejquivalency must be determined with reference to the patented structure, rather than the articles earlier found to infringe, for the injunction grants no rights that the patent did not confer.” Id. at 893, 170 USPQ at 29.
Most circuits have favored a middle ground granting discretionary authority in the trial court to determine how much relitigation may be required in the interest of justice. In Universal Match Corp. v. New Castle Products, Inc., 308 F.2d 842, 843, 135 USPQ 142, 143 (7th Cir.1962), that court applied the doctrine of equivalents in comparing the modified devices with the patent claims rather than with the prior adjudicated infringing device. See also Baltz v. The Fair, 279 F.2d 899, 903, 126 USPQ 87, 90 (7th Cir.1960), wherein the court held that it was within the discretion of the trial court to determine whether the charge of infringement should be adjudicated in a contempt proceeding or in a separate infringement action. But subsequently in Panther Pumps & Equipment Co. v. Hydrocraft, Inc., 566 F.2d 8, 18, 196 USPQ 81, 88 (7th Cir.1977) (Markey, C.J., sitting by designation), cert, denied sub nom. Beck v. Morrison Pump Co., 435 U.S. 1013, 98 S.Ct. 1887, 56 L.Ed.2d 395 (1978), the court viewed the issue to be “whether the SPRAYMATE B is an equivalent of the infringing SPRAYMATE pump” in light of an earlier injunction that defined “ ‘infringing product’ as, inter alia, ‘any colorable imitation or equivalent thereof, including, but not limited to, the product identified * * * as Defendants’ “SPRAY MATE PUMP” ’ ” [emphasis in original].
Some courts that have compared the modified device to the patent claims have not deemed it necessary to go beyond the claims or to review the prior art when determining equivalence in a contempt proceeding. Wadsworth Electric Mfg. Co. v. Westinghouse Elec. & Mfg. Co., 71 F.2d 850, 851-52, 22 USPQ 194, 196 (6th Cir.1934). As expressed in Panduit Corp. v. Stahlin Bros. Fibreworks, Inc., 338 F.Supp. 1240, 172 USPQ 650, (W.D.Mich.1972), aff'd, 476 F.2d 1286, 178 USPQ 12 (6th Cir.1973), the question of infringement required the court to focus on two issues: “(1) the equivalency of the modified structures to the structures previously held in*1535fringing and (2) the relationship of the new devices to the valid patent claim.” Id. at 1241-42, 172 USPQ at 651.
In E-I-M Co. v. Philadelphia Gear Works, Inc., 223 F.2d 36, 41, 105 USPQ 402, 405 (5th Cir.1955), cert. denied, 350 U.S. 933, 76 S.Ct. 304, 100 L.Ed. 815, 108 USPQ 456 (1956), the Fifth Circuit authorized limited review of prior art, “not on the settled issue of validity, but solely on the critical question of equivalency between the modified and adjudicated structures.”
The Eleventh Circuit in Sure Plus Mfg. Co. v. Kobrin, 719 F.2d 1114 (11th Cir.1983), stated that in a contempt proceeding “a court should first determine whether there is more than a colorable difference between the modified device and the enjoined device.” 719 F.2d at 1118. It defined a “more than colorable difference” as “one that gives rise to some fair ground for doubt that the modified product is within the scope of the injunction.” Id. In determining whether the difference was more than colorable the court applied the test of the doctrine of equivalents, citing the Interdynamics decisions and equating equivalence with colorable difference. The court stated that “it was necessary for the district court to compare the modified assembly to the infringing assembly, while bearing in mind its previous construction (during the infringement litigation) of the [patent] claims ... and the scope of their protection.” Id. Then, if there were such “fair ground of doubt” (i.e., more than a colorable difference) litigation of the infringement question was required.
The competing interests which require accomodation are reflected in this variety of judicial approaches to balancing the rights of a party who has already achieved a favorable judgment, against the rights of a person to “invent around” and avoid a patent it had earlier infringed. In almost all cases, the procedure followed by the court bears a plain relation to the facts of the particular case.
I would avoid setting a doctrinaire standard, and I would preserve a broad discretion in the trial court to adapt enforcement of its judgments to the variety of factual situations which may arise. The majority opinion weighs against the view expressed by the Sixth Circuit in Schlegel Mfg. Co. v. USM Corp., 525 F.2d 775, 783, 187 USPQ 417, 423 (6th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 912, 96 S.Ct. 1509, 47 L.Ed.2d 763, 189 USPQ 384 (1976):
In essence this appeal involves a very important principle, namely whether sanctity should be accorded to a consent decree of a Federal Court in a patent-infringement case.
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We ought to do nothing here to make the settlement of a patent-infringement action by consent decree a futile, meaningless gesture which will discourage such settlements in the future.
The preservation of judicial authority requires that “[t]he burden of avoiding infringement at the risk of contempt falls on the one enjoined”, Smith Int’l, Inc. v. Hughes Tool Co., 718 F.2d 1573, 1581 n. 8, 219 USPQ 686, 691 n. 8 (Fed.Cir.1983). “The attempt to see how near one can come to an infringement and escape it involves great danger, and is not looked upon with favor by courts.” Calculagraph Co. v. Wilson, 136 Fed. 196, 199 (C.C.D.Mass.1905). Substantial discretion must be permitted to the trial court to determine the extent of further proceedings.
III.
The majority view makes it harder for a court to invoke the summary procedures by which courts normally enforce their judgments. In the case before us, the majority directs the district court on remand “to reconsider whether, under the standard set forth herein, infringement with respect to the ULTRA-LOK devices should be tested in contempt proceedings” or some other way — presumably a full infringement trial. However, the “standard set forth herein” requires so thorough a legal reanalysis that it does not accommodate simple procedures.
The majority states that determination of whether to conduct a contempt proceeding *1536is discretionary with the trial judge, but does not provide guidance as to what the majority considers would be an abuse of that discretion. In MAC Corporation of America v. Williams Patent Crusher & Pulverizer Co., 767 F.2d 882, 226 USPQ 515 (Fed.Cir.1985), this court affirmed that it is within the discretion of the district court to decide not to handle a contempt case summarily, when the modified device is so changed that it raises a “fair ground of doubt” as to whether the injunction was violated. I agree.
In the case before us, the district court has already held that the devices were “merely colorably different” and that the court was free of a “fair ground of doubt”, yet the majority appears to reject the district court’s decision that the case could be handled in a contempt proceeding. Thus it is not clear on what basis the majority wants the district court to reconsider what sort of proceeding to conduct. The majority states that it gives appropriate deference to the discretionary authority of the trial court, yet also criticizes the “summary” contempt proceeding. The only clear holding is that it will be more difficult to enforce a judgment of patent infringement against a eontemnor. This increased difficulty serves no public policy articulated by the majority.
The majority’s reason for vacating the decision below is “the refusal of the district court to consider whether the Jones ULTRA-LOK devices infringed the claims of the ‘217 patent,” stating that “the court cannot avoid looking at the claims of the patent”. The majority cites in support Hopp Press, Inc. v. Joseph Freeman & Co., 323 F.2d 636, 139 USPQ 141 (2d Cir.1963). That ease makes no mention of patent claims, and the court found contempt on applying the same test for equivalency that the majority disapproves in Interdynamics and disapproves in the case at bar. Similarly the case of Coleman Co. v. Holly Mfg. Co., 269 F.2d 660, 122 USPQ 559 (9th Cir.1959), relied on for this same proposition, upheld the trial court’s analysis of the material effect of the modification on the “efficiency and operation of appellant’s models in suit”; there is not a word about patent claims. Both of these cases followed the law and procedure that the majority rejects.
I do not share the view that the district court “interpreted Interdynamics I and II as precluding any consideration of the issue of infringement”. The district court said that “[ujnder Interdynamics I and II, contempt is found if the defendants’ new alleged infringing device is ‘merely color-ably different’ from the admittedly infringing device.” KSM Fastening Systems, Inc. v. H.A. Jones Co., No. 79-1350 slip op. at 2 (D.N.J.1984). This did not “preclude” consideration of infringement; it merely stated the Third Circuit’s test for infringement in a contempt proceeding. The requirement that the district court must always make an express finding of “infringement” is, in this case, purely semantic.
I believe that the district court must retain the discretion to decide whether, for a particular modified device, a simplified contempt procedure will better serve the interest of justice. The majority has eased the way to enabling an adjudged infringer to oblige a court to retry any colorable modification the infringer can create, with fresh consideration of prior art and prosecution history, renewed claim interpretation, and the trappings of discovery and expert witnesses that accompany trial of these issues. By thus reducing the discretionary possibility of summary relief in contempt proceedings, harassing litigation will be harder to control.
The district court found that the UltraLok device was “merely colorably different” from the Thermal-Lock device. The court observed:
The court does not believe that Jones has taken a “new route” to invent around the KSM patent it infringed. Any differences to which Jones draws the court’s attention are either irrelevant to the determination which the court must make or, if relevant, are either not supported by the evidence or insignificant.
*1537In reaching this conclusion the court relied on its finding that the devices were “equivalent”.
I agree that when it is necessary to invoke the doctrine of equivalents to determine whether a modified device is in violation of an injunction against infringement, this may raise a fair ground of doubt as to whether differences between the devices are “merely colorable”. It is then proper to review the claims, the specification, and the prosecution history if appropriate in the specific circumstances, with due regard to matters that are res judicata between the parties. If on remand infringement is found, literally or by equivalents, contempt is an appropriate remedy.

. The majority posits the “unreasonableness of a decree incorporating a vague or broad prohibition against ‘infringement’ of a ‘patent’”. A century of precedent weighs to the contrary. Nor has this question been raised on appeal.

. Interdynamics, Inc. v. Firma Wolf, 653 F.2d 93, 210 USPQ 868 (3d Cir.) (Interdynamics I), cert. denied sub nom. Trans Tech, Inc. v. Interdynamics, Inc., 454 U.S. 1092, 102 S.Ct. 658, 70 L.Ed.2d 631, 213 USPQ 888 (1981), and Interdynamics, Inc. v. Firma Wolf, 698 F.2d 157, 217 USPQ 117 (3d Cir.1982) (Interdynamics II).