SIRF Technology, Inc. v. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COM'N

• Decision Date: 12 April 2010
• Docket Number: No. 2009-1262.,2009-1262.
• Citation: 601 F.3d 1319
• Parties: SIRF TECHNOLOGY, INC., E-Ten Corp., Pharos Science & Applications, Inc., MiTAC International Corp., and Mio Technology Limited, USA, Appellants, v. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Appellee. and Broadcom Corporation and Global Locate, Inc., Intervenors.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

601 F.3d 1319

SIRF TECHNOLOGY, INC., E-Ten Corp., Pharos Science & Applications, Inc., MiTAC International Corp., and Mio Technology Limited, USA, Appellants, v. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Appellee. and Broadcom Corporation and Global Locate, Inc., Intervenors.

No. 2009-1262.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

April 12, 2010.

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James L. Quarles III, Michael D. Esch, Todd C. Zubler, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale, Washington, DC, William F. Lee, Michael J. Summersgill, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale, Boston, MA, S. Calvin Walden, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale, New York, NY, for Intervenors.

Gregory A. Castanias, Thomas J. Davis, Jones Day, Washington, DC, Thomas V. Heyman, Todd R. Geremia, Iman Lordgooei, Jones Day, New York, NY, for Appellants.

Daniel E. Valencia, Andrea C. Casson, James M. Lyons, U.S. International Trade Commission, Washington, DC, for Appellee.

Before MICHEL, Chief Judge, CLEVENGER, and DYK, Circuit Judges.

DYK, Circuit Judge.

SiRF Technology, Inc. ("SiRF"), E-TEN Information Systems Co., Ltd. ("E-TEN"), Pharos Science & Applications, Inc. ("Pharos"), MiTAC International Corp. ("MiTAC"), and Mio Technology Limited, USA ("Mio") (collectively, "appellants") appeal from a decision of the International Trade Commission ("Commission"). The Commission found that appellants violated section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) through the unlawful importation, sale for importation, and sale after importation of certain Global Positioning System ("GPS") devices and products containing these devices that infringe certain patents owned by Global Locate, Inc. and Broadcom Corp. ("Broadcom") (collectively, "Global Locate").¹ The Commission issued a limited exclusion order and a cease and desist order. In re Certain GPS Devices & Prods. Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-602 (Int'l Trade Comm'n Jan. 15, 2009) ("Final Determination"). We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Global Locate owns U.S. Patent No. 6,417,801 ("the '801 patent"), U.S. Patent No. 6,606,346 ("the '346 patent"), U.S. Patent No. 6,651,000 ("the '000 patent"), U.S. Patent No. 6,704,651 ("the '651 patent"), U.S. Patent No. 6,937,187 ("the '187 patent"), and U.S. Patent No. 7,158,080 ("the '080 patent"). These six patents are in the field of GPS technology. GPS is a satellite navigation system comprising thirty-two satellites orbiting Earth that were placed in orbit by the United States and are operated by the United States. These satellites and their orbits are arranged so that at least four satellites are always in a direct line-of-sight to any point on Earth. The GPS system permits a GPS-enabled receiver to detect signals from at least four satellites and use that information to compute its distance from each satellite, and thus its precise position on Earth, through a process known as trilateration. Each satellite transmits two types of information to a GPS-receiver—(1) a pseudorandom noise ("PN" or "PRN") code, and (2) the Navigation ("NAV") message. PRN codes are used by the receiver to determine the distance to the satellite. NAV messages contain information regarding when the received signals were sent by the satellite, ephemeris data which is data regarding the location and trajectory of the satellite, and almanac information which is information regarding the position of other satellites in the constellation. Conventional GPS receivers depend on both the PRN code and the NAV message to calculate their position. The GPS system itself is not patented. However, there are various patents in devices, systems, and methods for processing GPS satellite signals.

It is difficult to receive the NAV message in certain environments due to poor signal reception. In order to solve this problem, Assisted-GPS ("A-GPS") was developed. In A-GPS systems, the NAV message is collected by a receiving station with an unobstructed view of the sky, and then transmitted to GPS receivers via computer servers and over a connection such as the Internet or a wireless telephone network.

The patents-in-suit are owned by Global Locate and are directed to various improvements over conventional A-GPS technology. The '346 patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Computing Signal Correlation." It is directed to a novel method of performing signal correlation, which is the process by which GPS receivers compare incoming signals to locally generated codes in order to identify the satellite sending the signal and the "offset" between the received signal and the stored code. The '651 patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Locating Mobile Receivers Using a Wide Area Reference Network for Propagating Ephemeris." The '651 patent teaches sending satellite ephemeris to a mobile GPS receiver through an A-GPS network and using the ephemeris at the receiver to more precisely locate the satellites and narrow the search for weak signals, thereby improving the receiver's acquisition sensitivity. The '000 patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Generating and Distributing Satellite Tracking Information in a Compact Format." The patent teaches the compaction of satellite ephemeris data in order for it to be received more quickly by GPS receivers than uncompacted data. The '080 patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Using Long Term Satellite Tracking Data in a Remote Receiver." It teaches using certain algorithms to predict ephemeris data for satellites in the future, receiving that "long term" data at a GPS receiver, and using it to locate satellites and calculate position. The '801 patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Time-Free Processing of GPS Signals." It teaches a GPS receiver that can calculate its position without having to wait to receive time information from a satellite, thereby allowing the receiver to calculate its position more quickly and even in weak-signal environments. The '187 patent is entitled "Method and Apparatus for Forming a Dynamic Model to Locate Position of a Satellite Receiver." This patent is a continuation-in-part of the '801 patent. It extends the solution of the '801 patent from the discrete calculation of a GPS receiver's position at a particular moment to the use of a "dynamic model" that allows the improved, repeated calculation of a GPS receiver's position as it changes over time.

SiRF, which is accused of both direct and induced infringement, developed, manufactured, and sold certain GPS chips. SiRF's SiRFstarIII chips are accused of being involved in the infringement of the '000, '080, '651, '801, and '187 patents. SiRF's InstantGPS chips are accused of being involved in the infringement of the '346, '801, and '187 patents. These chips, when incorporated into end-user GPS devices, allow such devices to compute absolute position using the GPS system. SiRF's SyncFreeNav is software embedded in SiRFstarIII chips that calculates current positional information for the GPS receiver.

E-TEN, Pharos, MiTAC, and Mio, also accused of direct and induced infringement, incorporate SiRF chips into end-user, consumer GPS devices, such as portable navigation devices, personal digital assistants, and cell phones, and maintain intermediate servers. The products of these companies that contain SiRFstarIII chips are accused of being involved in the infringement of the '000, '080, '651, '801, and '187 patents. The consumer devices incorporating SiRF chips and software are imported into and sold in the United States.

SiRF's InstantFix service is an A-GPS system that provides server-generated extended-ephemeris ("EE") files to end-user GPS devices, which then use the EE files for signal acquisition and satellite position computation. The service is provided through a SiRF-operated server.² This server generates EE files once per day by receiving and downloading past GPS satellite information, including ephemeris data, from Jet Propulsion Laboratory ("JPL"). SiRF's server uses this data to predict future satellite orbits and clock information for all satellites in the GPS constellation in order to generate EE files. These EE files are then ultimately transmitted to remote GPS receivers by way of SiRF's customers' servers via the Internet, a wireless link, or a combination of the two. The InstantFix service, in utilizing SiRF's chips and the software that implements the InstantFix service, is alleged to infringe the '080, '000, and '651 patents.

On April 30, 2007, at the request of Global Locate, the Commission initiated an investigation to determine whether violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1337) had occurred by the importation into the United States, the sale for importation, or the sale within the United States after importation of certain GPS devices that allegedly were involved in infringing Global Locate's patents. See In re Certain GPS Devices & Prods. Containing Same, 72 Fed.Reg. 25,777-78 (Int'l Trade Comm'n May 7, 2007) (notice of investigation). SiRF, E-TEN, MiTAC, Pharos, and Mio were named as respondents. The Commission Investigative Staff ("Staff") was also a party to the investigation.

Global Locate alleged that appellants infringed fifteen claims of the six asserted patents. An Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") held an evidentiary hearing and issued a 216-page Initial Determination. See In re Certain GPS Devices & Prods. Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-602 (Int'l Trade Comm'n Aug. 8, 2008) ("Initial Determination"). The ALJ found violations of section 337 by each of the respondents, and with respect to each of the six patents. Specifically, the ALJ found infringement of claims 1, 2, and 11 of the '801 patent; claims 4 and 11 of the '346 patent; claims 1, 2, and 5 of the '000 patent; claims 1 and 2 of the '651 patent; claims 1 and 9 of the '187 patent; and claims 1, 2, and 22 of the '080 patent. Id. at 213-15. The ALJ also concluded that all six patents were not invalid or unenforceable. Id. at 213-14. Appellants pe...