Semiconductor Energy v. Chi Mei Optoelectronics, C 04-04675 MHP.
| Decision Date | 19 April 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. C 04-04675 MHP.,C 04-04675 MHP. |
| Citation | 485 F.Supp.2d 1089 |
| Parties | SEMICONDUCTOR ENERGY LABORATORY COMPANY LTD., Plaintiff, v. CHI MEI OPTOELECTRONICS CORP., et al., Defendant(s). |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
Donald R. Harris, John E. Titus, Joseph F. Marinelli, Joseph Albert Saltiel, Patrick L. Patras, Stanley A. Schlitter, Stephen M. Geissler, Terrence Joseph Truax, Jenner & Block LLC, Chicago, IL, Victoria F. Maroulis, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP, Redwood Shores, CA, R. Tulloss Delk, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiff.
Teresa M. Corbin, Daniel X. Yan, Howrey LLP, San Francisco, CA, Benjamin Charles Deming, Christopher A. Mathews, Howrey LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Ryan Edward Lindsey, Yuri Mikulka, Gregory Stuart Cordrey, Howrey LLP, Irvine, CA, Robert Unikel, Howrey LLP, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.
Plaintiff Semiconductor. Energy Laboratory Company Ltd. ("SEL") brought this patent infringement action against defendant Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. ("CMO") et al., alleging infringement of four United States patents related to in situ DNA hybridization. Three patents in suit currently remain. Now before the court are CMO's motions for summary judgment of noninfringement and invalidity as to the asserted claims of all three patents. Having considered the parties' arguments and submissions, and for the reasons set forth below, the court enters the following memorandum and order.
An overview of LCD technology and summaries of the asserted patents are provided in this court's Claim Construction Order. Docket Entry 111 at 1-6 (hereinafter "Claim Construction Order"). The claims at issue in these motions are summarized below.
SEL alleges that CMO's method of manufacturing thin film transistors ("TFTs") for inclusion in certain LCD products infringes claims 3-6, 10-13 and 18-21 of the U.S. Patent No. 6,657,258 ("the '258 Patent"). Claim 3 of the patent claims:
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of: forming a gate electrode on an insulating surface;
forming a gate insulating film comprising silicon nitride on said gate electrode; forming a first semiconductor film comprising amorphous silicon over said gate electrode with said gate insulating interposed therebetween;
forming a second semiconductor film on said first semiconductor film, said semiconductor doped with an N-type dopant; patterning said first and second semiconductor films;
forming a conductive layer on the patterned second semiconductor film;
patterning the conductive layer to form source and drain electrodes by using a mask wherein a portion of the patterned second semiconductor film is exposed between said source and drain electrodes;
etching the exposed portion of the second semiconductor film to form source and drain regions wherein a channel forming region is formed in said first semiconductor film between said source and drain regions;
wherein said conductive layer is overetched to form a stepped portion from an upper surface at the source and drain electrodes to the surface at the first semiconductor film.
Claims 4-6 recite the same steps as Claim 3 with the exception of the final element, though the final element of each of these claims includes the limitations "stepped portion" and "upper surface." Id. ¶¶ 15-17. Claims 10-13 depend from claims 3-6, respectively, and further require that the gate electrode "comprises a material selected from the group consisting of chromium, aluminum and tantalum." Claims 18-21 also depend from claims 3-6, respectively, and further require that "the first semiconductor film comprises intrinsic amorphous silicon." Each of the asserted claims, therefore, contains the "upper surface" limitation.
CMO seeks summary judgment of noninfringement and invalidity as to claims 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 12, 14 and 15 of U.S. Patent No. 6,404,480 ("the '480 Patent"). Claims 1 and 11 are independent claims. Claim 1 claims:
An active matrix display device comprising: a first substrate;
a first interlayer insulating film provided over said first substrate a first conductive film provided on said first interlayer insulating film;
a second interlayer insulating film provided on said first conductive film, said second interlayer insulating film having at least two openings;
a second conductive film provided on said second interlayer insulating film and in said openings;
a second substrate opposed to said first substrate;
a third conductive film provided on said second substrate; and
a plurality of conductive spacers held between said first substrate and said second substrate;
wherein said first conductive film is connected with said second conductive film in said openings;
wherein at least one of said conductive spacers is held over said second interlayer insulating film and in contact with both said second conductive film and said third conductive film.
Claims 2, 4 and 5 depend from Claim 1.
Claim 11 claims:
An active matrix display device comprising:
a first substrate;
a first interlayer insulating film provided over said first substrate;
a first conductive film provided on said first interlayer insulating film;
a second interlayer insulting film provided on said first conductive film, said second interlayer insulating film having at least two openings;
a second conductive film provided on said second interlayer insulating film and in said openings;
a second substrate opposed to said first substrate;
a third conductive film provided on said second substrate; and
a plurality of conductive spacers held between said first substrate and said second substrate;
wherein said first conductive film is connected with said second conductive film in said openings;
wherein at least one of said conductive spacers is held over said second interlayer insulating film and in contact with both said second conductive film and said third conductive film;
wherein each of said openings occupies an area larger than the area occupied by each of said conductive spacers.
Claims 12, 14 and 15 depend from Claim 11.
CMO claims that claims 22-30, 40, 41, 53-58 and 62-67 of U.S. Patent No. 4,691,995 ("the '995 Patent") are invalid and/or not infringed by CMO's manufacturing process. Each of the asserted claims requires "a step of making a sealing structure on the periphery of the first and second substrates." JSUF ¶ 4. The court previously construed this limitation in connection with the application of a thermosetting resin to join the two substrates prior to the formation of the sealing structure. See Claim Construction Order at 35-37. CMO's accused devices are formed by applying a thermosetting and UV curable resin to one substrate before pressing an opposing substrate into contact with the resin. JSUF ¶ 17. The first application of CMO's thermosetting resin, therefore, is only to one substrate rather than both. Id. ¶ 18. After the substrates are brought together, the resin is cured by applying UV radiation and heat.
Summary judgment is proper when the pleadings, discovery and affidavits show that there is "no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c). Material facts are those which may affect the outcome of the case. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute as to a material fact is genuine if there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Id. The party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of identifying those portions of the pleadings, discovery, and affidavits that demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). On an issue for which the opposing party will have the burden of proof at trial, the moving party need only point out "that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Id.
Once the moving party meets its initial burden, the nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and, by its own affidavits or discovery, "set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e). Mere allegations or denials do not defeat a moving party's allegations. Id.; Gasaway v. Northwestern Mut. Life Ins. Co., 26 F.3d 957, 960 (9th Cir.1994). The court may not make credibility determinations, and inferences to be drawn from the facts must be viewed in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Masson v. New Yorker Magazine, 501 U.S. 496, 520, 111 S.Ct. 2419, 115 L.Ed.2d 447 (1991); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.
The moving party may "move with or without supporting affidavits for a summary judgment in the party's favor upon all or any part thereof." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). "Supporting and opposing affidavits shall be made on personal knowledge, shall set forth such facts as would be admissible in evidence, and shall show affirmatively that the affiant is competent to testify to the matters stated therein." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).
Determination of infringement is a two-step process. First, the court must determine the meaning of the language of the claims, a question of law. Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 517 U.S. 370, 384, 116 S.Ct. 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996). Second, the finder of fact must compare the construed claims to the accused product, to determine if each claim element is present, either literally or under the doctrine of equivalents. Irdeto Access, Inc. v. Echostar Satellite Corp., 383 F.3d 1295, 1299 (Fed.Cir.2004).
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