Anchor Wall Systems v. Rockwood Retaining Walls

• Decision Date: 13 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 02-1592.,02-1592.
• Parties: ANCHOR WALL SYSTEMS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ROCKWOOD RETAINING WALLS, INC., GLS Industries, Inc., Equipment, Inc., Raymond R. Price, and Gerald P. Price, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

Page 1298

340 F.3d 1298

ANCHOR WALL SYSTEMS, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ROCKWOOD RETAINING WALLS, INC., GLS Industries, Inc., Equipment, Inc., Raymond R. Price, and Gerald P. Price, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 02-1592.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

DECIDED: August 13, 2003.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied: October 7, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

J. Derek Vandenburgh, Carlson, Caspers, Vandenburgh & Lindquist, P.C., of Minneapolis, Minnesota, argued for plaintiff-appellant. With him on the brief was Alan G. Carlson.

Randall T. Skaar, Patterson, Thuente, Skaar & Christensen, P.A., of Minneapolis, Minnesota, argued for defendants-appellees. With him on the brief were Eric H. Chadwick and Scott G. Ulbrich. Of counsel on the brief was Malcolm L. Moore, Moore & Hansen, of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Before NEWMAN, BRYSON, and GAJARSA, Circuit Judges.

GAJARSA, Circuit Judge.

Anchor Wall Systems, Inc. ("Anchor") appeals from the final judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota granting Rockwood Retaining Walls, Inc., GLS Industries, Inc., Equipment, Inc., Raymond R. Price, and Gerald P. Price's (collectively, "Rockwood's") motion for partial summary judgment of noninfringement of six of Anchor's patents: U.S. Patent Nos. 5,490,363 ("the '363 patent"), 5,704,183 ("the '183 patent"), 5,711,129 ("the '129 patent"), 5,827,015 ("the '015 patent"), 6,142,713 ("the '713 patent"), and 6,183,168 B1 ("the '168 patent"). Anchor Wall Sys., Inc. v. Rockwood Retaining Walls, Inc., 252 F.Supp.2d 838 (D.Minn.2002). Because the district court did not err in granting the motions to strike the declarations of Peter Janopaul, we affirm that portion of the judgment. Because, however, the district court erred in its claim construction, we reverse that portion of the district court's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. Finally, because the district court concluded that there was a complete bar to application of the doctrine of equivalents pursuant to this court's ruling in Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 234 F.3d 558 (Fed.Cir.2000) (en banc), vacated and remanded, 535 U.S. 722, 122 S.Ct. 1831, 152 L.Ed.2d 944 (2002), we vacate that portion of the district court's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Patented Claims

Anchor is the assignee of the six patents at issue, which disclose and claim, inter alia, the interlocking features of masonry blocks that can be stacked to form retaining walls that resist ground pressure without requiring any additional support structure.

1. The '363 Patent Family

The '363, '183, and '129 patents (collectively, "the '363 patent family"), which are related to one another as continuations-in-part, disclose and claim blocks with integral concrete features that interact to locate the blocks relative to each other in a wall and lock the blocks together sufficiently to resist earth pressure from behind the wall. Figure 4 of the '363 patent shows one preferred embodiment:

NOTE: OPINION CONTAINING TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE

'363 patent, fig. 4; see also '183 patent, fig. 4; '129 patent, fig. 4. The block has a front surface 12, side surfaces 14 and 16, and a back surface 18. '363 patent, col. 3, ll. 28-33; '183 patent, col. 3, ll. 32-37; '129 patent, col. 3, ll. 55-60. The block has an integral concrete protrusion 26 formed on the top surface of the block, and insets 22A and 22B formed in the side surfaces 14 and 16 of the block. '363 patent, col. 3, ll. 36-38; '183 patent, col. 3, ll. 40-42; '129 patent, col. 3, ll. 63-65. A course of these blocks is laid, with the protrusions 26 pointing up, as shown in Figure 7 of the '363 patent:

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'363 patent, fig. 7; see also '183 patent, fig. 7; '129 patent, fig. 7. A block in the next ascending course is placed on top of the course below so that a protrusion 26 from the lower course fits into one of the side insets 22A or 22B of two adjacent blocks in the upper course. '363 patent, col. 5, ll. 46-51; '183 patent, col. 7, ll. 62-65; '129 patent, col. 10, ll. 38-41. The upper course block is pushed forward so that the back wall of the inset abuts the back of the protrusion 26. The abutment of protrusion 26 against one of the insets 22A or 22B resists the forward pressure of the earth.

Claim 14 of the '183 patent, which is representative of the claim terms at issue in the '363 patent family, reads:

14. A masonry block comprising a front surface, a back surface, a top surface and bottom surface, and first and second sides, said first side having a first inset wherein said first inset extends from said block top surface to said block bottom surface, said second side having a second inset wherein said second inset extends from said block top surface to said block bottom surface, said block comprising a protrusion on one of said top or bottom surfaces, said protrusion being configured to mate with an inset of one or more adjacently positioned blocks, said protrusion and insets having relative sizes and shapes adapted to permit relative rotation of the protrusion and the inset with which it is mated, whereby serpentine walls may be constructed from a plurality of such blocks.

'183 patent, col. 16, ll. 20-33 (emphases added).

2. The '015 Patent Family

The '015, '713, and '168 patents (collectively, "the '015 patent family"), which are related to one another as continuations-in-part, disclose blocks designed to build an entire mortarless retaining wall using one type of block. Figures 4, 5, and 6 of the '015 patent show one preferred embodiment:

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'015 patent, figs. 4, 5, and 6; see also '713 patent, figs. 4, 5, and 6; '168 patent, figs. 4, 5, and 6. The written description describes this preferred embodiment as having a top surface 26 and bottom surface 28 that are generally planar and parallel to one another. '015 patent, col. 5, ll. 4-6; '713 patent, col. 5, ll. 9-11; '168 patent, col. 5, ll. 7-9. A front surface 22 and a back surface 24 are also generally planar and parallel to one another, and are perpendicular to the top and bottom surfaces. Id. The blocks of the preferred embodiments have "two part" sidewall surfaces. '015 patent, col. 4, ll. 20-28; '713 patent, col. 4, ll. 25-34; '168 patent, col. 4, ll. 24-32. The first part 34, 38 tapers back at an angle á of less than 90 degrees with respect to the front surface, while the second part 32, 36 tapers inwardly toward the rear surface at an angle â of less than 90 degrees with respect to the back surface. Id. A flange 40 extends downwardly from the lower back of the block. '015 patent, col. 4, ll. 29-38; '713 patent, col. 4, ll. 35-44; '168 patent, col. 4, ll. 33-42. The flange contains a locking surface 44 that interacts with the back surface of the block immediately below to automatically locate and restrict movement of the upper block relative to the lower blocks. Id.

Claims 38 and 50 of the '015 patent, as well as claims 30, 43, 61, and 70 of the '713 patent, are at issue in this appeal. Claim 38 of the '015 patent, which is representative of the claim terms at issue in claim 50 of the '015 patent as well as claims 30 and 43 of the '713 patent, reads:

38. A composite masonry block suitable for landscape applications, comprising:

a) a solid and generally planar top face;

b) a bottom face which is generally parallel to the top face;

c) a rear face which is generally perpendicular to the top and bottom faces;

d) a front face which is generally perpendicular to the top and bottom faces and which includes opposed portions which diverge as they extend towards the rear face of the block;

e) opposed solid side faces which are generally perpendicular to the top and bottom faces, each of said solid side faces extending from an opposed diverging portion of the front face to the rear face, said side faces converging as they extend towards the rear face; [sic, and]

f) a lower rear locator lip formed integrally with the bottom face of the block, and located adjacent to the rear face of the block, so that the lip is adapted to establish a uniform setback from course to course when a plurality of like blocks are laid in courses, and comprises a rear face which is an extension of the block rear face below the bottom face of the block.

'015 patent, col. 16, ll. 38-61 (emphases added).

Claim 61 of the '713 patent reads:

61. [sic, A] retaining wall block comprising a front face, a rear face, upper and lower surfaces, opposed side faces and a locator flange, and wherein:

a) the front, rear, and side faces are substantially vertical;

b) the upper and lower surfaces are substantially horizontal and both surfaces are uninterrupted with holes for receiving and supporting pins used to position blocks;

c) the side walls converge towards each other from front to back, so that the front face of the block is wider than the rear face;

d) the flange extends below the lower surface at the rear of the block; and

e) the block is free from cores extending through the block, either from the upper to the lower surface, or from one side to the other.

'713 patent, col. 17, ll. 26-42 (emphasis added).

Claim 70 of the '713 patent reads:

70. A masonry block suitable for forming a serpentine retaining wall by dry stacking multiple blocks into successive overlying courses of blocks wherein the sidewalls of adjacent blocks are in contact to avoid gaps between adjacent blocks, said block comprising:

a) a block body, said block body comprising a generally vertical front surface and a back surface, said front and back surfaces being separated by a distance comprising the depth of the block; a generally planar upper surface and a lower surface, said upper and lower surfaces intersecting said generally vertical front...