Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.
Decision Date | 30 September 1991 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 91-0940. |
Parties | Herbert MARKMAN and Positek, Inc. v. WESTVIEW INSTRUMENTS, INC. and Althon Enterprises, Inc. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Lewis F. Gould, Jr., argued, Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, Philadelphia, Pa., Timothy P. Ryan, William B. Mallin, argued, Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott, Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiffs.
Peter A. Vogt, argued, Gollatz, Griffin, Ewing & McCarthy, John C. Dorfman, Patrick J. Hagan, Dann, Dorfman, Herrell and Skillman, Philadelphia, Pa., Jack C. Goldstein, Terry D. Morgan, Arnold, White & Durkee, Houston, Tex., for Westview Instruments, Inc.
Peter A. Dunn, John C. Dorfman, Dann, Dorfman, Herrell and Skillman, Philadelphia, Pa., for Althon Enterprises, Inc.
The issue is a motion for a directed verdict in this patent infringement case about an inventory control device used by laundries and dry cleaners. Defendants argue that the language of the patent and evidence presented at trial require an interpretation by the court of the patent claims at issue. Defendants argue that the undisputed facts concerning the capabilities of its product coupled with the correct reading of the patent claims require a verdict in its favor. For the following reasons, this court grants the motion for a directed verdict. The ruling controls as to both defendants. The jury verdict in favor of defendants controls as to claim 14. This ruling controls as to claims 1 and 10.
The question of claim construction is a matter of law for the court. Kraus v. Bell Atlantic Corp., 716 F.Supp. 182, 184 (E.D.Pa.1989). As the court stated in Becton Dickinson and Co. v. C.R. Bard, Inc., 922 F.2d 792, 797 (Fed.Cir.1990), "A mere dispute concerning the meaning of a term does not itself create a genuine issue of material fact." Plaintiffs' expert did attempt to redefine several common words in unusual ways. Thus, plaintiffs have attempted to give novel meaning to the terms "inventory", "report" and "attached to" in order to sustain the claims of infringement.
The patent-in-suit, in pertinent part, states the following claims at issue:
Plaintiffs' expert testified that these claims "read on" Westview's system because: "report" means "invoice"; "attached to said articles" means "attached to a plastic bag that covers a batch of the articles"; and "inventory" means "cash" or "invoices" not "articles of clothing." These definitions are contrary to the ordinary and customary meaning of these terms, as well as the obvious meaning intended by the patentee, determined from the specifications, the drawings and the file histories of the original patent and the patent-in-suit. In interpreting the meaning of patent claims, "words in a claim `will be given their ordinary and accustomed meaning unless it appears that the inventor used them differently.'" Jonsson v. Stanley Works, 903 F.2d 812, 820 (Fed.Cir.1990) (quoting Envirotech Corp. v. Al George, Inc., 730 F.2d 753, 759 (Fed.Cir.1984); quoting Universal Oil Prods. Co. v. Globe Oil & Refining Co., 137 F.2d 3, 6 (7th Cir.1943), aff'd, 322 U.S. 471, 64 S.Ct. 1110, 88 L.Ed. 1399 (1944)). The inventor may not change the meaning of his words to fit the particular circumstances of a trial. Chicago Steel Foundry Co. v. Burnside Steel Foundry Co., 132 F.2d 812, 814-15 (7th Cir.1943).
Plaintiffs' technical expert's testimony is based on an artificial interpretation of key words and phrases that runs counter to their ordinary meaning. The patent expert's testimony about the interpretation of the claim is not helpful because that is a legal issue for the court. Senmed, Inc. v. Richard-Allan Medical Industries, 888 F.2d 815, 818 (Fed.Cir. 1989).
A finding of literal infringement requires that the accused device include every element of the claim as properly...
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Markman v. Westview Instruments
...in Markman's patent encompasses "both cash inventory and the actual physical inventory of articles of clothing." 772 F. Supp. 1535, 1537-1538 (ED Pa. 1991). Under the trial court's construction of the patent, the production, sale, or use of a tracking system for dry cleaners would not infri......
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Chapter §15.02 Judge Versus Jury as Interpreter
...one" within the meaning of the case.76--------Notes:[10] 517 U.S. 370 (1996).[11] See, e.g., Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 772 F. Supp. 1535 (E.D. Pa. 1991) (following jury verdict for patentee, granting accused infringer's motion for directed verdict on meaning of asserted claims ......