Johnson Worldwide Associates, Inc. v. Zebco Corp.

• Decision Date: 27 April 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-1331,98-1331
• Parties: JOHNSON WORLDWIDE ASSOCIATES, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ZEBCO CORPORATION and Brunswick Corporation, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

Page 985

175 F.3d 985

50 U.S.P.Q.2d 1607

JOHNSON WORLDWIDE ASSOCIATES, INC., Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ZEBCO CORPORATION and Brunswick Corporation, Defendants-Appellants.

No. 98-1331.

United States Court of Appeals Federal Circuit.

April 27, 1999.

David L. De Bruin, Michael Best & Friedrich, LLP, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, argued for plaintiff-appellee. Of counsel was Kimberly C. Tate.

Kenneth J. Jurek, McDermott, Will & Emery, of Chicago, Illinois, argued for defendants-appellants. With him on the brief was Rosanne J. Faraci.

Before MAYER, Chief Judge, CLEVENGER, and GAJARSA, Circuit Judges.

CLEVENGER, Circuit Judge.

Zebco Corporation and Brunswick Corporation appeal a summary judgment of patent infringement granted in favor of Johnson Worldwide Associates by the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. See Johnson Worldwide Assocs., Inc. v. Zebco Corp., No. 97-C-453-S, slip op. at 19 (W.D.Wis. Apr. 2, 1998). Because the district court correctly construed the claims of the patent at issue and properly found no genuine issues of material fact regarding whether the patent was infringed, we affirm.

I

Johnson Worldwide Associates ("Johnson") is the holder of U.S. Patent No. 5,202,835 ("the '835 patent"), entitled "Trolling Motor With Heading Lock," which issued on December 15, 1992. ¹ The '835 patent is generally directed to a steering control apparatus for small outboard motors, such as electric trolling motors. Trolling motors are an alternate propulsion source for small watercraft, generally intended for use while actively fishing--when the noise, vibration, and speed caused by larger or more powerful motors would diminish the chances of enticing fish to the proffered bait.

A

In broad terms, the invention of the '835 patent is a form of autopilot, described in the patent as a "heading lock," enabling directional control over the watercraft to be maintained without constant manipulation of trolling motor controls. The preferred embodiment of the '835 patent, as set forth in the written description and figures, employs a compass mounted to the head of the "heading lock" unit, which monitors the direction of the thrust motor, specifically noting that the direction of the thrust motor is considered to be the same as the direction of the boat, as the trolling motor is mounted on the bow of the boat. See '835 patent, col. 4, lines 48-51. Claim 1 of the '835 patent, the only independent claim alleged to be infringed, provides as follows:

1. A heading lock coupled to a trolling motor producing a thrust disposed to pull a watercraft, said heading lock comprising:

a steering motor coupled to said trolling motor, said steering motor being disposed to affect the orientation of said trolling motor in response to input signals;

a steering circuit electrically coupled to said steering motor, said steering circuit [being] disposed to generate said input signals to said steering motor in response to heading signals; and

a heading detector electrically coupled to said steering circuit, said heading detector being disposed to transmit said heading signals to said steering circuit.

Zebco Corporation and Brunswick Corporation (collectively, "Zebco") sell a product under the trade name "AutoGuide" that maintains directional control of a trolling motor by use of a magnetometer located in a foot pedal. The foot pedal also contains the user controls. A microprocessor in the foot pedal sends steering signals to the steering motor through wires connecting the foot pedal to the trolling motor unit. The location of the magnetometer (in the foot pedal) is thus distinct from the location of the compass (fixed to the trolling motor head) depicted in the preferred embodiment of the '835 patent. Whether this fact is sufficient for Zebco to escape infringement of the '835 patent is the subject of this appeal.

B

In 1997, Johnson filed suit against Zebco, alleging, inter alia, that the AutoGuide unit infringed the claims of the '835 patent. The parties presented cross-motions for summary judgment on patent infringement in early 1998. On April 2, 1998, the district court agreed with Johnson's proffered claim construction, granted Johnson's motion for summary judgment of infringement, and denied Zebco's motions. The court held that there was nothing in the intrinsic evidence of the '835 patent that compelled or supported the narrow construction of the disputed terms in the claims urged by Zebco, namely that the term "heading" in "heading signal" was limited to the direction of the trolling motor, and that the term "coupled" in "heading lock coupled to a tolling motor" was limited to a mechanical or physical connection. Without these limitations, on stipulated facts, the district court found that each element of the construed claim was literally present in Zebco's AutoGuide device. This appeal followed, vesting this court with jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1) (1994).

II

We review the grant of a summary judgment de novo. See Conroy v. Reebok Int'l, Ltd., 14 F.3d 1570, 1575, 29 USPQ2d 1373, 1377 (Fed.Cir.1994). In doing so, we must keep in mind that summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine issue of material fact. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). To this end, the court must draw all reasonable factual inferences in favor of the nonmovant. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

An infringement analysis is a two-step process in which the court first determines, as a matter of law, the correct claim scope, and then compares the properly-construed claim to the accused device to determine, as a matter of fact, whether all of the claim limitations are present, either literally or by a substantial equivalent, in the accused device. See Renishaw PLC v. Marposs Societa per Azioni, 158 F.3d 1243, 1247-48, 48 USPQ2d 1117, 1120 (Fed.Cir.1998); General Mills, Inc. v. Hunt-Wesson, Inc., 103 F.3d 978, 981, 41 USPQ2d 1440, 1442 (Fed.Cir.1997); Young Dental Mfg. Co. v. Q3 Special Prods., Inc., 112 F.3d 1137, 1141, 42 USPQ2d 1589, 1592 (Fed.Cir.1997). Because the relevant aspects of the accused device's structure and operation are undisputed in this case, the question of whether Zebco's AutoGuide product infringes the claims of Johnson's '835 patent turns on the interpretation of those claims. See Athletic Alternatives, Inc. v. Prince Mfg., Inc., 73 F.3d 1573, 1578, 37 USPQ2d 1365, 1370 (Fed.Cir.1996) ("Where, as here, the parties do not dispute any relevant facts regarding the accused product but disagree over [claim interpretation], the question of literal infringement collapses to one of claim construction and is thus amenable to summary judgment.").

As we alluded to above, the crux of Zebco's argument is that the '835 patent covers only those trolling motor-autopilot systems that include a compass or other directional indicator physically attached to the trolling motor. Zebco arrives at this conclusion by the following route: (1) Zebco considers the "heading lock" invention of the '835 patent to be concerned only with the direction and orientation of the trolling motor rather than the boat; and (2) therefore the heading lock--which, according to claim 1, includes a heading detector "disposed to transmit ... heading signals"--must be physically attached to the trolling motor. Because the accused AutoGuide systems undisputedly contain a directional indicator (a "heading detector") in a foot pedal--attached to the trolling motor via wires rather than mechanically--Zebco argues that Johnson's infringement claim must fail.

While Zebco recognizes that claim 1, the broadest claim at issue, does not explicitly require that the "heading detector" be mechanically coupled to the trolling motor, it nonetheless suggests that a proper interpretation of the terms "heading signal" and "coupled" in the language of claim 1 compels such a limited claim scope. In doing so, Zebco points out that Figure 1 of the '835 patent, and at least some of the language in the written description, suggest that the preferred embodiment of the invention includes a compass mechanically attached to the trolling motor. This case, then, presents the question of when it is permissible to narrow the scope of broad claim language by reference to embodiments described and depicted in the balance of the specification.

A

We begin, as with all claim interpretation analyses, with the language of the claims. See Renishaw, 158 F.3d at 1248, 48 USPQ2d at 1120; Abtox, Inc. v. Exitron Corp., 122 F.3d 1019, 1023, 43 USPQ2d 1545, 1548 (Fed.Cir.1997); Bell Communications Research, Inc. v. Vitalink Communications Corp., 55 F.3d 615, 619-20, 34 USPQ2d 1816, 1819 (Fed.Cir.1995). The general rule is, of course, that terms in the claim are to be given their ordinary and accustomed meaning. See Renishaw, 158 F.3d at 1249, 48 USPQ2d at 1121; York Prods., Inc. v. Central Tractor Farm & Family Ctr., 99 F.3d 1568, 1572, 40 USPQ2d 1619, 1622 (Fed.Cir.1996). General descriptive terms will ordinarily be given their full meaning; modifiers will not be added to broad terms standing alone. See, e.g., Virginia Panel Corp. v. MAC Panel Co., 133 F.3d 860, 865-66, 45 USPQ2d 1225, 1229 (Fed.Cir.1997) (unmodified term "reciprocating" not limited to linear reciprocation); Bell Communications, 55 F.3d at 621-22, 34 USPQ2d at 1821 (unmodified term "associating" not limited to explicit association); Specialty Composites v. Cabot Corp., 845 F.2d 981, 987, 6 USPQ2d 1601, 1606 (Fed.Cir.1988) (unmodified term "plasticizer" given full range of ordinary and accustomed meaning). In short, a court must presume that the terms in the claim mean what they say, and, unless otherwise compelled, give full effect to the ordinary and accustomed meaning of claim terms. See, e.g., Nike Inc. v. Wolverine World Wide, Inc., 43 F.3d 644, 646, 33 USPQ2d 1038, 1039 (Fed.Cir.1994); E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. v. Phillips Petroleum, 849 F.2d...