Shanghai Ele Mfg. Corp.. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n

• Decision Date: 27 August 2010
• Docket Number: Nos. 2009-1378, 2009-1387, 2009-1434.,s. 2009-1378, 2009-1387, 2009-1434.
• Parties: GENERAL PROTECHT GROUP, INC., Appellant, and Wenzhou Trimone Science & Technology Electric Co., Ltd., Appellant, and Shanghai Ele Manufacturing Corporation, Appellant, v. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Appellee, and Pass & Seymour, Inc., Intervenor.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

619 F.3d 1303

GENERAL PROTECHT GROUP, INC., Appellant,andWenzhou Trimone Science & Technology Electric Co., Ltd., Appellant,andShanghai Ele Manufacturing Corporation, Appellant,

v. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Appellee,andPass & Seymour, Inc., Intervenor.

Nos. 2009-1378, 2009-1387, 2009-1434.

United States Court of Appeals,Federal Circuit.

Aug. 27, 2010.

William F. Long, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, of Atlanta, GA, argued for appellant General Protecht Group, Inc. With him on the brief were Ann G. Fort and Joshua D. Curry.

Lei Mei, Mei & Mark LLP, of Washington, DC, argued for appellant Wenzhou Trimone Science & Technology Electric Co., Ltd. With him on the brief was Reece W. Nienstadt.

Tony D. Chen, Caywin Law Group, of Los Angeles, CA, argued for appellant Shanghai Ele Manufacturing Corporation.

Paul M. Bartkowski, Attorney, Office of the General Counsel, United States International Trade Commission, of Washington, DC, argued for appellee. With him on the brief were James M. Lyons, General Counsel, and Wayne W. Herrington, Assistant General Counsel.

Mark J. Abate, Goodwin Procter LLP, of New York, NY, argued for intervenor. Of counsel were Ankur P. Parekh, Andrew N. Stein, Calvin E. Wingfield, Jr.; Jennifer A. Albert, of Washington, DC; and Charles H. Sanders, of Boston, MA. Of counsel on the brief were George R. McGuire and David L. Nocilly, Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC, of Syracuse, NY.

Before NEWMAN, DYK, and PROST, Circuit Judges.

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge DYK.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge NEWMAN.

DYK, Circuit Judge.

General Protecht Group, Inc. (“GPG”), Wenzhou Trimone Science and Technology Electric Co., Ltd. (“Trimone”), and Shanghai ELE Manufacturing Corp. (“ELE”) appeal from a final determination of the International Trade Commission (“Commission”) that the importation into the United States, sale for importation, or sale within the United States of certain ground fault circuit interrupters (“GFCIs”) violated section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, 19 U.S.C. § 1337. The Commission issued limited exclusion orders against the importation of GFCI products from each of the three appellants. See In re Certain Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters & Prods. Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-615, 2009 WL 962585 (Int'l Trade Comm'n Mar. 9, 2009) (“ Final Determination ”). The Commission found that devices manufactured by appellants infringe U.S. Patent Nos. 7,283,340 (“the '340 patent”), 5,594,398 (“the '398 patent”), and 7,164,564 (“the '564 patent”), and that none of these patents is invalid or unenforceable.

We hold that the Commission erred in three respects: (1) GPG's 2003 and 2006 GFCIs and ELE's 2006 GFCIs do not infringe the '340 patent, because they do not have a “detection circuit” as claimed in the patent; (2) Trimone's 2006 GFCIs and ELE's 2006 GFCIs do not infringe the '340 patent, because the “load terminals” of the patent do not include receptacle outlets; and (3) GPG's 2006 GFCIs do not infringe the '398 patent, because GPG performs the function of the “latching means” in a substantially different way than the structure disclosed in the patent. We remand for further proceedings in these respects. We affirm the Commission's determination in all other respects.

Background

GFCI receptacles are the electrical outlets found commonly in bathrooms and kitchens. Typically, they can be identified by the “test” and “reset” buttons positioned between the two electrical sockets. GFCIs are designed to protect people from potentially fatal electrical shocks by cutting off the flow of electricity-or “tripping”-when the device detects a “ground fault.” A GFCI detects a ground fault when the electrical current flowing from the GFCI to a connected device on the “hot” prong of the socket does not match the current flowing from the connected device back to the GFCI on the “neutral” prong of the socket. This indicates that electrical current is leaking out along an unintended path, possibly through a person. This may be due to an exposed wire or the connected device's being dropped in water, for example.

Pass & Seymour, Inc. (“Pass & Seymour”) is the assignee of various GFCI patents. In September 2007, on a complaint filed by Pass & Seymour, 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 GFCIs that allegedly infringe some of Pass & Seymour's patents. GPG, Trimone, ELE, and others were named as respondents.

On September 24, 2008, the Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) issued an initial determination finding violations of section 337 by each of the appellants. See In re Certain Ground Fault Circuit Interrupters & Prods. Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-615 (Int'l Trade Comm'n Sept. 24, 2008) (“ Initial Determination ”). Appellants petitioned the Commission for review of the ALJ's decision, and the Commission determined that it would review certain of the ALJ's findings.

On March 9, 2009, the Commission issued its final opinion. With respect to the devices and claims involved in this appeal, the Commission, while modifying the ALJ's claim constructions in a few respects, affirmed the findings of infringement. GPG, Trimone, and ELE appealed. This opinion addresses that appeal. In certain other respects, the Commission reversed the ALJ's findings of infringement. Pass & Seymour appealed. In a separate opinion released today we address that appeal. ¹

Insofar as is pertinent here, the Commission issued a limited exclusion order prohibiting entry into the United States of GPG GFCIs found to infringe one or more of claims 1 and 7 of the '398 patent and claims 14 and 18 of the ' 340 patent; Trimone GFCIs infringing one or more of claims 14 and 18 of the '340 patent; and ELE GFCIs infringing one or more of claims 1, 7, and 8 of the '398 patent, claims 14, 18, and 30 of the '340 patent, and claims 1 and 15 of the '564 patent. The Commission's determination became final on May 8, 2009, at the conclusion of the sixty-day presidential review period. See 19 U.S.C. § 1337(j)(4). As noted, GPG, Trimone, and ELE timely appealed, and we have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(6).

Discussion

GPG, Trimone, and ELE raise numerous issues challenging the Commission's final determination, arguing that their accused devices do not infringe or that the asserted patents are invalid. We have considered appellants' arguments, and find most of them unpersuasive. Therefore, we affirm the Commission's determination in most respects, and we think an extended discussion of those points is unnecessary. We focus our discussion on only those issues as to which we conclude that the Commission was in error.

We review the Commission's final determination of a violation of section 337 under the standards of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). See 19 U.S.C. § 1337(c). Under the APA, this court reviews the Commission's legal determinations de novo and its factual findings for substantial evidence. See 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), (E); Honeywell Int'l, Inc. v. Int'l Trade Comm'n, 341 F.3d 1332, 1338 (Fed.Cir.2003). Claim construction is an issue of law and is subject to de novo review. See Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., Inc., 138 F.3d 1448, 1451 (Fed.Cir.1998) (en banc).

I The '340 Patent

The Commission found that GFCI devices from each of the three appellants infringe the '340 patent. GPG's 2003 and 2006 GFCIs were found to infringe claims 14 and 18; Trimone's 2006 GFCIs were found to infringe found to infringe claims 14 and 18; and ELE's 2006 GFCIs were found to infringe claims 14, 18, and 30.

The '340 patent is directed to a GFCI receptacle that “detects the wiring state of the device and inhibits operation if the device is miswired.” '340 patent col.2 ll.29-31. When properly wired, the electrical source is connected to the GFCI's “line terminals,” from which power flows into the rest of the device. However, there is a chance that an installer may accidentally miswire the electrical source to the device's “load terminals,” which are normally intended for connection to downstream outlets that receive ground fault protection through the GFCI. If miswired, the devices do not protect against a ground fault. To effect the miswiring protection, the ' 340 patent has a “detection circuit” to detect whether the GFCI device is properly wired to an electrical circuit, and “four sets of interrupting contacts” configured to make or break an electrical circuit between the line terminals and the load terminals, depending on the signal from the detection circuit. Claim 14 is representative:

14. An electrical wiring device comprising: line terminals and load terminals;

at least one detection circuit including a circuit segment coupled between the line terminals and configured to generate a predetermined signal in response to detecting a proper wiring condition, the predetermined signal not simulating a fault condition, a proper wiring condition being effected when the line terminals are connected to a source of AC power; and

an interrupting contact assembly coupled to the at least one detection circuit, the interrupting contact assembly including four sets of interrupting contacts that are configured to provide electrical continuity between the line terminals and the load terminals in a reset state and configured to interrupt the electrical continuity in tripped state, the interrupting contact assembly being substantially prevented from effecting the reset state absent the predetermined signal being generated by the at least one detection circuit.

'340 patent col.10 ll.7-25 (emphases added).

A “detection circuit”

ELE and GPG argue that their GFCIs do not infringe the '340 patent because their devices do not have a “detection circuit.” The ALJ construed “detection...