Leggett & Platt, Inc. v. Vutek, Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 August 2008
• Docket Number: No. 2007-1515.,2007-1515.
• Citation: 537 F.3d 1349
• Parties: LEGGETT & PLATT, INCORPORATED and L & P Property Management Company, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. VUTEk, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

537 F.3d 1349

LEGGETT & PLATT, INCORPORATED and L & P Property Management Company, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. VUTEk, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 2007-1515.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

August 21, 2008.

David A. Roodman, Bryan Cave LLP, of St. Louis, Missouri, argued for plaintiffs-appellants. With him on the brief was K. Lee Marshall.

Russell B. Hill, Howrey LLP, of Irvine, California, argued for defendant-appellee. With him on the brief were William C. Rooklidge, Michael J. Stimson, and Alyson G. Barker.

Before BRYSON, Circuit Judge, ARCHER, Senior Circuit Judge, and PROST, Circuit Judge.

PROST, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs-Appellants Leggett & Platt, Inc. and L & P Property Management Co. (collectively, "L & P") sued Defendant-Appellee VUTEk, Inc. ("VUTEk") alleging that certain of VUTEk's large-scale printers infringe claims 1-3, 7, 9-10, and 19 of L & P's U.S. Patent No. 6,755,518 (the "'518 patent"). VUTEk filed a motion for summary judgment alleging that the asserted claims of the '518 patent are invalid. The district court granted VUTEk's motion, finding claims 1, 9, 10, and 19 of the '518 patent to be anticipated by a prior VUTEk patent and claims 2, 3, and 7 to be obvious in light of a combination of two prior VUTEk patents. Leggett & Platt, Inc. v. VUTEk, Inc., No. 4:05-CV-788, 2006 WL 3813677 (E.D.Miss. Dec. 26, 2006) ("Summary Judgment Order"). Because we conclude that the district court properly granted summary judgment of invalidity, we affirm.

I

The ′518 patent, entitled "Method and Apparatus for Ink Jet Printing on Rigid Panels," describes a method and apparatus for printing ink on a rigid, deformable substrate without causing the substrate to deform, even temporarily. A deformable substrate is a material that has a tendency to bend, ripple, warp, or otherwise deform when it is exposed to radiant energy, such as heat or infrared ("IR") radiation. To print on such a substrate, the '518 patent describes the use of a "UV curable" ink-which can be cured (i.e., dried) by exposure to ultraviolet ("UV") radiation-and a "cold UV" radiation source. Where some "hot" sources of UV radiation will emit non-UV radiation that can heat and deform the substrate, a "cold UV" radiation source can substantially cure the ink without deforming the substrate. The '518 patent also teaches that, shortly after the UV curable ink is deposited on the substrate, the cold UV radiation source "freezes" the ink in place to prevent the ink from spreading, wicking, or otherwise moving on the substrate. Because the height of the substrate may vary, the '518 patent also provides techniques for maintaining a constant distance between the ink jet's printheads and the substrate.

In May 2005, L & P filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, alleging that VUTEk's PressVu UV printers infringe L & P's ′518 patent. Specifically, L & P alleged that VUTEk was infringing independent claims 1 and 10 and dependent claims 2, 3, 7, 9, and 19 of the '518 patent. Independent claim 1 is representative of these claims for the purposes of this appeal. It recites:

A method of ink jet printing UV curable ink from an ink jet printhead onto a rigid substrate formed of a material that has a tendency to at least temporarily deform in the direction of printhead if exposed to radiant curing energy while at a printing station, the method comprising:

moving a printhead carriage having an ink jet printhead thereon approximately parallel to a substrate at a printing station;

jetting ink from the head onto the surface of a substrate;

providing at least one cold UV curing assembly on the carriage, adjacent to and moveable with the printhead, and oriented to direct UV energy onto the surface of the substrate at the printing station sufficiently close to where ink is being jetted onto the surface to freeze dots of the jetted ink on the surface; and

the cold UV assembly being effective to impinge sufficient UV light on the ink to substantially cure the ink without impinging radiation that would heat the substrate so as to deform it, even temporarily, while at the printing station.

′518 patent col.9 ll.6-25 (emphases added).

The district court held a Markman hearing in April 2006 and subsequently issued an order construing the disputed terms and phrases of the '518 patent. Leggett & Platt, Inc. v. Vutek, Inc. No. 4:05-CV-788, 2006 WL 1479537 (E.D.Miss. May 25, 2006) ("Markman Order"). Three of these claim constructions are at issue on appeal: (1) cold UV, (2) freeze dots of the jetted ink, and (3) substantially cure. First, the district court construed the claim term "cold UV" to mean "an ultraviolet light source which: (i) employs selected wavelengths to limit; or (ii) has been adapted to selectively reduce the amount of; radiation (and thus heat) that impinges upon a substrate." Id. at **2-3, *12. Next, the district court ruled that the phrase "freeze dots of the jetted ink" means "to sufficiently cure the dots of ink such that they will not spread, wick, or otherwise move on the substrate." Id. at *7, *12. Finally, the district court construed the phrase "substantially cure" to mean "cured to a great extent or almost completely cured." Id. at **7-8, *12.

In October 2006, the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment on the issue of infringement, and VUTEk filed a motion for summary judgment of invalidity. The district court granted VUTEk's motion on invalidity and deemed the remaining motions moot. Summary Judgment Order at 23-24. In its motion, VUTEk asserted that claims 1-3, 7, 9-10, and 19 of the '518 patent are invalid because they are anticipated or obvious, indefinite, and lack written description. See id. at 1-2. The district court found the asserted claims to be invalid on two of these grounds. Id. at 2. First, the district court first concluded that claims 1, 9, 10, and 19 of the '518 patent are invalid as anticipated by VUTEk's U.S. Patent No. 6,457,823 (the "'823 patent") and claims 2, 3, and 7 are invalid as obvious in light of a combination of the '823 patent and VUTEk's U.S. Patent No. 6,616,355 (the "'355 patent"). Id. at 5-18. "Alternatively," the district court "reluctantly" agreed that these claims are invalid as indefinite because the terms "deform, deforming, and deformation," which are present in each claim, "are not capable of being construed in a way that meets the definiteness requirement of [35 U.S.C.] § 112." Id. at 18-23.

For these reasons, the district court granted VUTEk's motion for summary judgment of invalidity. Id. at 23. The district court then entered final judgment, declaring claims 1-3, 7, 9-10, and 19 of the ′518 patent invalid. Leggett & Platt, Inc. v. Vutek, Inc., No. 4:05-CV-788, 2007 WL 2030134 (E.D.Miss. July 9, 2007). L & P timely appealed. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1).

II

This court reviews a district court's grant of summary judgment de novo. Innogenetics, N.V. v. Abbott Labs., 512 F.3d 1363, 1378 (Fed.Cir.2008). "In determining whether there is a genuine issue of material fact, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion, with doubts resolved in favor of the nonmovant." Baxter Int'l, Inc. v. COBE Labs., Inc., 88 F.3d 1054, 1057 (Fed.Cir.1996); see Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). While anticipation is a question of fact, "it may be decided on summary judgment if the record reveals no genuine dispute of material fact." Golden Bridge Tech., Inc. v. Nokia, Inc., 527 F.3d 1318, 1321 (Fed. Cir.2008).

As noted above, the district court found: (1) claims 1, 9, 10, and 19 of the ′518 patent to be anticipated by VUTEk's ′823 patent, and (2) claims 2, 3, and 7 to be obvious in light of a combination of VUTEk's ′823 patent and VUTEk's '355 patent. Summary Judgment Order at 2, 5-18. L & P appeals both findings. We turn first to whether the district court erred in concluding that claims 1, 9, 10, and 19 are anticipated as a matter of law.

As noted above, claim 1 is representative for the purposes of L & P's arguments on appeal. It requires "at least one cold UV curing assembly" that is "adjacent to and moveable with the printhead." '518 patent col.9 ll.15-16. It specifies that this cold UV curing assembly is "oriented to direct UV energy ... to freeze dots of the jetted ink" and "effective to impinge sufficient UV light on the ink to substantially cure the ink." Id. at col.9 ll.17-22. L & P's argument on appeal is that VUTEk's ′823 patent fails to disclose these claimed aspects and, thus, cannot anticipate.

The ′823 patent describes a printer carriage that includes one or more inkjet printheads and one or more UV radiation sources for setting ink after it has been deposited onto a substrate. ′823 patent col.3 ll.59-66, col.4 ll.60-64. These UV radiation sources may be light emitting diodes ("LEDs"), id. at col.2 ll.4-12, which the parties agree qualify as "cold UV," see Summary Judgment Order at 7. The '823 patent teaches that these UV radiation sources should emit enough energy to "set" the deposited ink when the carriage is operating at the fastest possible speed (i.e., 50 watts per inch).¹ '823 patent col.5 ll.3-16. Deposited ink is "set" or pre-cured "so that the ink does not spread or ball up, even though it is still in a quasi-fluid state." Id. at col.1 ll.50-53. The parties equate setting the ink (in the ′823 patent) and freezing the ink (in the ′518 patent).

In order to ensure that deposited ink is not underexposed, the UV sources will emit radiation over an area that is wider than the printheads. Id. at col.5 ll.20-34. As a result, some regions of ink will be exposed to radiation twice. Id. If the various different colors of inkjet printheads are configured in a desirable way, some overlap regions will be exposed to the UV radiation five times. Id. at col.5 ll.35-46. While it may appear that these regions will receive an excessive amount of energy if the carriage is operating...