Alloc, Inc. v. International Trade Com'n
| Decision Date | 10 September 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 02-1222.,No. 02-1291.,02-1222.,02-1291. |
| Citation | 342 F.3d 1361 |
| Parties | ALLOC, INC., Berry Finance N.V., and Valinge Aluminium, AB, Appellants, v. INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION, Appellee, and Pergo, Inc., and Roysol, and Akzenta Paneele + Profile GmbH, and Unilin Décor N.V., BHK of America, and Meister-Leisten Schulte, GmbH, Intervenors. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
Daniel J. O'Connor, Baker & McKenzie, of Chicago, Illinois, argued for appellants. With him on the brief were David I. Roche, Jasmine C. Abdel-khalik, and Shima S. Roy.
Clara Kuehn, Attorney, International Trade Commission, of Washington, DC, argued for appellee. On the brief were Lyn M. Schlitt, General Counsel; James M. Lyons, Deputy General Counsel; and Timothy P. Monaghan, Attorney. Of counsel were David I. Wilson, Michael Diehl, and Wayne Herrington, Attorneys.
John M. DiMatteo, Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP, of New York, New York, argued for intervenors Unilin Décor N.V., BHK of America, Meister-Leisten Schulte GmbH, and all other intervenors. On the brief were Eugene M. Gelernter, of Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP; Art C. Cody, of Wilkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP; and Laura M. Raisty, Adeel A. Mangi, and Daniel Ravicher, Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler LLP, of New York, New York. Of counsel was Cecilia H. Gonzalez, Howrey, Simon Arnold & White, LLP, of Washington, DC. Also on the brief were Edward V. Filardi, Daniel A. DeVito, and Todd J. Tiberi, Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom, LLP, of New York, New York, for intervenor Pergo, Inc. Of counsel were David L. Cohen, Scott D. Lyne, and Douglas R. Nemec, Skadden Arps, etc. Also on the brief were Douglas V. Rigler, and L. Eden Burgess, Andrews & Kurth, LLP, of Washington, DC; and Andrew J. Patch, Young & Thompson, of Arlington, Virginia, for intervenor Roysol. Also on the brief were Ward B. Coe, III, Steven E. Tiller, and Gregory M. Stone, Whiteford, Tayler & Preston, L.L.P., of Baltimore, Maryland, for intervenor Akzenta Paneele + Profile GmbH. Of counsel was Edward H. Kim.
Before MICHEL, RADER, and SCHALL, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge RADER. Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge SCHALL.
In its Final Determination on Investigation No. 337-TA-443 under 19 U.S.C. § 1337 (section 337), the United States International Trade Commission (Commission) found no infringement of patent claims covering flooring products and methods of joining flooring products. In the Matter of Certain Flooring Prods., Inv. No. 337-TA-443, Notice of Final Initial Determination (Nov. 2, 2001) (Initial Determination); In the Matter of Certain Flooring Prods., Inv. No. 337-TA-443, Notice of Final Determination (Mar. 22, 2002) (Final Determination). Absent patent infringement, the Commission found no domestic injury under section 337 by the imported flooring products. Because the domestic producers, Alloc, Inc., Berry Finance N.V., and Valinge Aluminum AB (collectively, Alloc), cannot prove infringement of the properly construed claims, this court affirms.
Alloc filed a complaint with the Commission alleging the importation and sale of the accused flooring materials violated section 337. To show a violation of section 337(a)(1)(B) or section 337(a)(2), a complainant can prove three elements: (1) the importation of goods into the United States or sales of imported goods within the United States; (2) infringement by those goods or sales of a valid and enforceable United States patent; and (3) an industry in the United States marketing the patented articles. 19 U.S.C. §§ 1337(a)(1)(B) & 1337(a)(2) (2000).
Alloc owns the rights to U.S. Patent Nos. 5,860,267 (the '267 patent)1, 6,023,907 (the '907 patent), and 6,182,410 (the '410 patent), which claim systems and methods of joining floor panels. Alloc alleged violation of section 337 by reason of infringement of these patents' claims. The asserted patents share the identical specification and all claim priority from the same Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application, filed April 29, 1994, and a continuation of this PCT application, U.S. Application No. 08/436,224, filed May 17, 1995, now issued U.S. Patent No. 5,706,621.
Alloc asserted that Intervenors Pergo, Inc. (Pergo), Roysol, Akzenta Paneele + Profile, GmbH (Akzenta), Unilin N.V. (Unilin), and Meister-Leisten Schulte, GmbH (Meister) all imported flooring products that infringe claims in the '267, '907, and '410 patents. With the exception of Roysol, the Intervenors admitted importation of the accused flooring products, but denied infringing the asserted patents. By order dated July 10, 2001, the administrative judge made an initial determination, which found that Alloc had shown the existence of a domestic industry marketing the patented products — the third requirement under section 337. The administrative judge convened an evidentiary hearing on patent infringement.
Claim 19 of the '267 patent, claim 1 of the '907 patent, and claim 1 of the '410 patent are representative of the asserted claims from each patent and state (emphases added)2:
Claim 19 of the '267 patent
A method for laying and mechanically joining rectangular building panels in parallel rows, the method comprising the steps of:
a) placing a new one of the panels adjacent to a long edge of a previously laid first one of the panels in a first row and to a short edge of a previously laid second one of the panels in an adjacent second row, such that the new one of the panels is in the second row, while holding the new one of the panels at an angle relative to a principal plane of the first panel, such that the new one of the panels is spaced from its final longitudinal position relative to said second panel and such that a long edge of the new panel is provided with a locking groove which is placed upon and in contact with a locking strip at the adjacent long edge of the first panel b) subsequently angling down the new one of the panels so as to accommodate a locking element of the strip of the first panel in the locking groove of the new panel, whereby the new panel and the first panel are mechanically connected with each other in a second direction with respect to the thus connected long edges, wherein the long edges, in the angled down position of the new panel, are in engagement with each other and thereby mechanically locked together in a first direction also; and
c) displacing the new one of the panels in its longitudinal direction relative to the first panel towards a final longitudinal position until a locking element of one of the short edges of the new one of the panels and the second panel snaps up into a locking groove of the other one of the short edges, whereby the new one of the panels and the second panel are mechanically connected with each other in both in the first direction and in the second direction with respect to the thus connected short edges.
Claim 1 of the '907 patent
A method of laying and mechanically joining floor panels in parallel rows, wherein relative positions of the panels during the method can be defined as including first and second mutual positions, a first mutual position in which (i) the two panels are held in an angled position relative to each other and (ii) upper portions of adjacent edges of the two panels are in mutual contact, and a second mutual position in which the two panels are (i) located in a common plane, (ii) mechanically locked to each other in a first direction that is at right angles to the common plane, (iii) mechanically locked to each other in a second direction, that is at right angles to said first direction and to the adjacent joint edges, as a result of a first locking member disposed at one of the adjacent edges being connected to a second locking member disposed at the other one of the adjacent edges, and (iv) being displaceable in relation to each other in the direction of the adjacent joint edges, wherein said method comprises the steps of:
a) bringing a new one of the panels into an intermediary position where (i) a previously laid first one of the panels is located in a first row, (ii) a second one of the panels is located in a second row and is in said first mutual position in relation to the first panel, and (iii) the new panel is located in the second row and is in said second mutual position in relation to the second panel and is in a position relative to the first panel such that a mutual distance is present between the upper portions of the adjacent joint edges of the new panel and the first panel;
b) while maintaining said second mutual position between the new panel and the second panel, displacing the new panel relative to the second panel into said first mutual position in relation to the first panel; and
c) angling the new panel and the second panel together into said second mutual position in relation to the first panel.
Claim 1 of the '410 patent
An edge lock for use in a flooring system having a plurality of floor panels, the edge lock for mechanically and releasably locking together adjacent edges of pairs of adjacent floor panels during assembly of the flooring system and when said adjacent floor panels are laying flat on a subfloor with upper corner portions of said adjacent edges being mutually spaced apart, said edge lock comprising:
locking means for forming a first mechanical connection for locking said adjacent edges to each other in a vertical direction, and for forming a second mechanical connection for locking said adjacent edges to each other in a horizontal direction at right angles to said edges, said locking means including:
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