Optical Disc Corp. v. Del Mar Avionics
| Decision Date | 07 April 2000 |
| Docket Number | DEFENDANTS-APPELLEES,No. 99-1225,PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,99-1225 |
| Citation | 54 USPQ2d 1289,208 F.3d 1324 |
| Parties | (Fed. Cir. 2000) OPTICAL DISC CORPORATION,, v. DEL MAR AVIONICS AND BRUCE DEL MAR, |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit |
James A. McQueen, Grahan & James LLP, of Costa Mesa, California, argued for plaintiff-appellant. Of counsel on the brief was Stephen J. Koundakjian.
Craig Y. Allison, Brobeck Phleger & Harrison LLP, of Los Angeles, California, argued for defendants-appellees. With him on the brief were William E. Trautman, of San Francisco, California; Douglas C. Rawles of Los Angeles, California; and Robers G. Kramer and Pamela B. Hiatt, of Palo Alto, California.
Before Plager, Schall, and Gajarsa, Circuit Judges.
Optical Disc Corporation (ODC) appeals from the decision of the United States District Court for the Central District of California that granted summary judgment of noninfringement (both literal and under the doctrine of equivalents) in favor of Del Mar Avionics and Bruce Del Mar (collectively Del Mar) in ODC's suit against Del Mar for infringement of claims 1, 3-11, and 13-24 of U.S. Patent No. 5,297,129 (the '129 patent). See Optical Disc Corp. v. Del Mar Avionics, No. CV-97-650 (C.D. Cal. Dec. 17, 1998). ODC is the assignee of the '129 patent. The patent is directed to a method and an apparatus for improving the quality of compact optical discs.
We affirm-in-part, vacate-in-part, and remand. Specifically, we (1) affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment of no literal infringement of claims 1, 3-11, 13-20, 22, and 23; (2) vacate the grant of summary judgment of noninfringement of the same claims under the doctrine of equivalents and remand for further proceedings; and (3) vacate the grant of summary judgment of noninfringement of claims 21 and 24 and remand for further proceedings directed to both literal infringement and infringement under the doctrine of equivalents.
A compact disc (CD) can be used to store digitized data, such as music, video, or computer data, for later playback or retrieval. In order to retrieve the data on a CD, the surface of the CD is optically scanned. For example, a music CD contains digitized data representing recorded music. A person wishing to hear the music inserts the CD into a CD player, where the data on the CD is optically read during playback. The CD player rotates the CD so that the "read head" of the player can retrieve the digitized data and the recorded music can be heard. Laser beams usually are used to read the data on a CD.
The first step in the production of a CD is the creation of a master CD with data on it. Data is written onto the master CD, or recorded on it, by making physical alterations in the surface of the disc. These alterations are known as "surface effects." Normally, laser beams are used to write data onto the surface of a master CD. "Pits" are the most common form of surface alteration used to write information onto a disc. Between each pit on the disc is an unaltered area known as the "land." When the recording process is completed, a master CD will contain millions of pits and lands. The boundary between a pit and land is called a "transition." The information stored on the CD is contained in the transitions between the pits and lands and in the distance between transitions.
After a master CD with data on it has been created, a metal layer typically is deposited on top of the disc in order to make an inverse image of it. The metallized inverse copy of the master CD, called a "stamper," then is separated from the master disc. The stamper is used to mold multiple copies of the original master CD for distribution and sale. These copies are exact replicas of the master CD.
One method for creating surface effects on a master CD is the "thermal dye polymer process." In thermal dye polymer processing, pits are directly formed on the CD by a laser beam. First, a coating of polymeric thermoactive dye is placed on the surface of the blank master CD. Next, a focused laser "writing beam" is applied to the CD surface. When the laser beam hits the surface of the CD, it thermally heats the dye polymer layer. The heat generated by the laser beam impinging on the surface of the CD creates the pit directly because, when the dye polymer layer reaches a certain "threshold temperature," it changes from a solid into a gas. This leaves a pit in the dye polymer layer. A pit's "leading edge" is the area on the disc where heat generated by the laser beam begins to exceed the threshold temperature and therefore starts to form a pit on the surface of the disc. If it does so gradually, it creates a tapered, or "canoe" shaped, leading edge where the pit starts. The same pit's "trailing edge" is the area on the disc where heat generated by the laser beam decreases below the threshold temperature, either abruptly or gradually. Consequently, the depth of the pit decreases, either abruptly or gradually, and the pit ends. When the laser beam is turned off or the power output falls below the threshold abruptly, a rather blunt semicircular, or "hot dog" shaped, trailing end on the trailing edge of the pit is created because the downstream portion of the revolving disc is cold. However, if the laser beam's output power is reduced in a controlled manner from a power level above the threshold to a power level below the threshold, a tapered canoe shape at the trailing edge of the pit is formed.
In the thermal dye polymer process, the laser beam is "modulated" (i.e., controlled) by a "modulator drive signal" that is derived from the data to be stored on the disc. For example, as the amplitude of the modulator drive signal increases, the output power of the laser will increase correspondingly. In other words, the laser beam power output "copies" the modulator drive signal in order to record data on the disc surface.
A "write strategy" for converting the data (such as music) to be stored on a master CD into a corresponding series of pits and lands on the disc is necessary in order to achieve the particular pit shape symmetry and "duty cycle" that is desired. The "duty cycle" is the ratio of pit size to land size. For example, a duty cycle of 50% would be a symmetrical signal with the pits occupying 50% of the area and the land occupying the other 50%. The write strategy employed will depend on a number of factors. The write strategy is reflected in the modulator drive signal.
The ability of a CD player to read the data stored on a CD depends upon the ability of the player to "see" the transitions between pits and lands. For accurate retrieval of data from a CD, the pits should have geometric symmetry. In other words, the shape of the trailing edge of each pit should closely resemble the shape of the leading edge of the pit. Certain types of CD players experience tracking problems if the pit has edges that are blunt (hot dog shaped) rather than edges that are tapered (canoe shaped). Therefore, a CD having pits with geometrically symmetrical tapered edges is desirable.
The '129 patent is directed to a method and apparatus for improving the quality of CDs by creating master CDs having pits with geometrically symmetrical leading and trailing edges. The patent describes the modulation of a laser write beam in response to a modulator drive signal containing information to be recorded onto the master CD. The laser beam forms a track of surface effects or "indicia" (i.e., pits) in the moving optical disc when the writing beam power is above the threshold for altering the disc surface, and does not form surface effects when the writing beam is below the threshold. See '129 patent, col. 2, l. 39 - col. 3, l. 5. According to the patent, a "uniquely shaped modulator drive signal" is provided to vary the power of the laser writing beam above and below the threshold. See id. at col. 7, ll. 3-15. The patent asserts that its shaped modulator drive signal improves the characteristics of the surface effects recorded on the master CD. See id. at col. 7, ll. 8-9, 24-34.
The "SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION" states that the invention provides "a modulator drive signal to modulate the light beam, and produces therefrom a shaped modulator drive signal having steep leading edges reaching a first level sufficient to cause the writing beam to have an intensity above the threshold of the moving medium [(the disc)], and having ramped trailing edges changing in amplitude at a prescribed rate to reach a second level sufficient to cause the writing beam to have an intensity below the threshold of the moving medium." Id. at col. 7, ll. 4-12. The written description explains that "[s]ince the trailing edges of the shaped modulator drive signal fall according to a prescribed ramp function, the temperature of the medium [(the dye polymer layer on the disc)] does not drop as abruptly as it would with steep falling edges of prior art modulating drive pulses, and the trailing edges thus also exhibits [sic] the 'canoe-shaped' characteristic." Id. at col. 7, ll. 34-40 (emphasis added). In this manner, a master CD is formed that has pits with leading and trailing edges that are symmetrical.
The method and apparatus of the '129 patent are illustrated in Figures 1 and 3 of the patent. Figure 1 is a "generalized" block diagram of a recording apparatus for carrying out the objectives of the invention. The recording apparatus is designed for recording information on a rotating disc-shaped medium 1. See id. at col. 8, ll. 10-12. The disc is rotated by a spindle motor 3 which is controlled by a speed controller 5. See id. at col. 8, ll. 12-13. A laser or other high density light source 7 forms a writing beam 9 of a particular wavelength of light. The writing beam then passes through an optical modulator 11,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Engineered Products Co. v. Donaldson Co., Inc.
...989 (Fed.Cir.1999)). "For such ordinary meaning, [the court] turns, generally, to the dictionary definition of the term."24 Optical Disc Corp., 208 F.3d at 1335 (citing Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1584 n. 6). This ordinary meaning provides the "default meaning," and the court must then consider t......
-
Bowers v. Baystate Technologies, Inc.
...of fact. Bai v. L & L Wings, Inc., 160 F.3d 1350, 1353, 48 USPQ2d 1674, 1676 (Fed. Cir.1998); Optical Disc Corp. v. Del Mar Avionics, 208 F.3d 1324, 1333-34, 54 USPQ2d 1289, 1294-95 (Fed.Cir.2000). Obviousness is a question of law, Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17, 86 S.Ct. 684, 15 ......
-
Default Proof Credit Card System v. Home Depot
...Inverness Medical Switzerland GmbH v. Princeton Biomeditech Corp., 309 F.3d 1365, 1369 (Fed.Cir.2002); Optical Disc Corp. v. Del Mar Avionics, 208 F.3d 1324, 1334-35 (Fed.Cir.2000). Once the court has determined the ordinary and customary meaning of the terms, there is a heavy presumption t......
-
Kudlacek v. Dbc, Inc.
...978 (Fed.Cir.2000); Vehicular Techs. Corp. v. Titan Wheel Int'l, Inc., 212 F.3d 1377, 1381 (Fed.Cir.2000); Optical Disc Corp. v. Del Mar Avionics, 208 F.3d 1324, 1333 (Fed.Cir.2000). The court must "dra[w] all reasonable inferences from the evidence in favor of the nonmovant." KCJ Corp. v. ......
-
Markman Twenty Years Later: Twenty Years of Unintended Consequences
...(Fed. Cir. 2002); CCS Fitness, Inc. v. Brusnwick Corp., 288 F.3d. 1359, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2002); Optical Disc Corp. v. Del Mar Avionics, 208 F.3d 1324, 1334-35 (Fed. Cir. 2000); Quantum Corp. v. Rodime, PLC, 65 F.3d 1577, 1581 (Fed. Cir. 154. E.g., GE Lighting Solutions, LLC. v. Agilight, Inc......