Verizon Services Corp. v. COX FIBERNET VIRGINIA

• Decision Date: 16 April 2010
• Docket Number: 2009-1098.,No. 2009-1086,2009-1086
• Citation: 602 F.3d 1325
• Parties: VERIZON SERVICES CORP., Verizon Communications, Inc., MCI Communications Corp., and Verizon Business Global LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COX FIBERNET VIRGINIA, INC., Cox Virginia Telecom, Inc., Cox Communications Hampton Roads, LLC, Coxcom, Inc., and Cox Communications, Inc., Defendants-Cross Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Federal Circuit

602 F.3d 1325

VERIZON SERVICES CORP., Verizon Communications, Inc., MCI Communications Corp., and Verizon Business Global LLC, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. COX FIBERNET VIRGINIA, INC., Cox Virginia Telecom, Inc., Cox Communications Hampton Roads, LLC, Coxcom, Inc., and Cox Communications, Inc., Defendants-Cross Appellants.

Nos. 2009-1086, 2009-1098.

United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit.

April 16, 2010.

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Richard G. Taranto, Farr & Taranto, of Washington, DC, argued for plaintiffs-appellants. Of counsel on the brief were Michael K. Kellogg, John C. Rozendaal and Michael E. Joffre, Kellogg, Huber, Hansen, Todd, Evans & Figel, PLLC, of Washington, DC; John Thorne and Robert H. Griffen, Verizon Communication Inc., of Arlington, VA, and Leonard C. Suchyta, of Basking Ridge, NJ.

Mitchell G. Stockwell, Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, of Atlanta, GA, argued for defendants-cross appellants. With him on the brief were William H. Boice and Audra A. Dial.

Before MAYER, LINN, and PROST, Circuit Judges.

LINN, Circuit Judge.

Verizon Services Corp., Verizon Communications, Inc., MCI Communications, Inc., and Verizon Business Global LLC (collectively "Verizon") appeal from a final judgment of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia entered after a jury found: (1) claims 5 and 6 of U.S. Patent No. 6,282,574 ("the '574 patent") and claims 1, 3, and 11 of U.S. Patent No. 6,104,711 ("the '711 patent") invalid; and (2) claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 6,430,275 ("the '275 patent"); claims 1, 19, 27, and 35 of U.S. Patent No. 6,292,481 ("the '481 patent"); claim 1 of U.S. Patent No. 6,137,869 ("the '869 patent"); and claims 12, 13, and 20 of U.S. Patent No. 6,636,597 ("the '597 patent") not infringed by Cox Fibernet Virginia, Inc., Cox Virginia Telecom, Inc., Cox Communications Hampton Roads, LLC, Coxcom, Inc., and Cox Communications, Inc. (collectively "Cox"). See Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Cox Fibernet Va., Inc., No. 08-CV-0157 (E.D.Va. Oct. 6, 2008) (judgment); Verizon Servs. v. Cox Fibernet Va., Inc., 08-CV-0157 (E.D.Va. Nov. 7, 2008) (order denying cross-motions for judgment as a matter of law and new trial); Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Cox Fibernet Va., Inc., No. 08-CV-0157 (E.D.Va. Nov. 11, 2008) (agreed order amending and clarifying the judgment). On appeal, both parties challenge the district court's denial of their respective motions for judgment as a matter of law and motions for new trial. Because the evidence introduced at trial supports the jury's verdict, and because the district court did not err in instructing the jury on the scope of the claims, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

A. The Patents at Issue

The six patents at issue in this appeal are owned by Verizon and relate generally to packet-switched telephony—technology for providing telephone calls by breaking up voice signals and sending the resulting data in packets, not all of which need traverse the same path, through a network. Packet-switched telephony increases the efficiency of the underlying network over traditional circuit switching, which relies on a dedicated path between endpoints of a call.

To explain the technology involved in the six asserted patents, the parties divide them into three groups: the '711 and '574 patents (the "Feature Patents"), the '275, '869, and '481 patents (the "Network Patents"), and the '597 patent (the "Quality of Service Patent"). None of the claims in any of the patents at issue in this appeal refer explicitly to the Internet or to a "public packet data network," which this court has previously equated to the Internet. Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Vonage Holdings Corp., 503 F.3d 1295, 1305 (Fed.Cir. 2007). Instead, the asserted claims refer to "packet switched networks," "circuit switched networks," and a "system of interlinked packet data networks."

1. The Feature Patents ('711 and '574)

The Feature Patents share a specification and involve methods for providing features such as call-forwarding over packet-switched networks. These features are made possible by an enhanced name translation server. The specification describes the existing Domain Name System ("DNS"), which uses computers associated with the Internet, known as domain name servers, to convert textual domain names into numeric Internet Protocol ("IP") addresses. The specification also describes software developed for use on personal computers to permit the two-way transfer of real-time voice information via an Internet data link between two personal computers ("VOIP"). The inventions relate to a server with an expanded variety of translation services over a traditional domain name server, allowing for a wider range of routing options over packet-switched networks. This additional functionality allows providers of VOIP to offer enhanced features, such as call-forwarding and voicemail, to which users of traditional telephone service have become accustomed. Although the inventions are "particularly advantageous for processing of voice telephone communications through the packet data network," they are not limited to voice services or the Internet. '711 patent col.6 ll.48-50.

2. The Network Patents ('275, '869, and '481)

The Network Patents relate to an architecture for providing per-call support functionality for voice service over a packet-switched network. The inventions in this group provide for bundling the traditionally separate databases of usage recording, pricing, and authorization into a single logical database in order to ensure scalability of the system, reduce the potential for fraud, and allow mechanisms for network support infrastructure, pricing, call flow, and billing. The patents do not require this single logical database, referred to as a "unitary logical object" or "ULO," to be implemented as a single physical system.

3. The Quality of Service Patent ('597)

The Quality of Service Patent covers a method for providing services over a packet-switched network by dynamically allocating resources to vary the quality of service on a call-by-call basis. The invention includes an enhanced routing technique, which is more flexible than the traditional routing tables used by the public switched telephone network and allows the invention to quickly respond to changes in network configuration and network traffic.

B. The Parties and the Litigation

In 1996, Cox began to offer telephone service. This service initially was based on traditional, circuit-switched telephony, operated over Cox's private cable network. In 2003, Cox began to provide telephone service over its private cable network using a packet-switched technology called PacketCable.

In January 2008, Verizon sued Cox for willfully infringing its patents by deploying Cox's packet-switched telephone service. Four of the six patents at issue, the Feature Patents (the '711 and '574 patents) and two of the three Network Patents (the '275 and '869 patents), had been previously litigated in Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Vonage Holdings Corp., No. 06-CV-1782 (E.D.Va.2007) ("Vonage"). Although different claims were asserted in Vonage, the claims at issue in that case were closely related to the asserted claims in this case and used many of the same terms. The issues relating to the Feature Patents were reviewed by this court on appeal, and the claim constructions made in connection therewith were affirmed. Verizon Servs. Corp. v. Vonage Holdings Corp., 503 F.3d 1295 (Fed.Cir.2007). The district court adopted the relevant claim constructions from the Vonage litigation and, in addition, construed several terms that had not been at issue in the Vonage case. Verizon Servs. v. Cox Fibernet Va., Inc., No. 08-CV-0157, 2008 WL 5169451 (E.D.Va. Sept. 3, 2008) ("Claim Construction Order"). A jury found that Cox did not infringe any of the asserted claims of the six patents and that the asserted claims of the Feature Patents were invalid. Verizon Servs. v. Cox Fibernet Va., Inc., No. 08-CV-0157 (E.D.Va. Oct. 6, 2008) (jury verdict).

After the jury verdict, Verizon renewed its Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as a matter of law ("JMOL") under Rule 50(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and, alternatively, moved for a new trial under Rule 59(a). Cox filed its own motions for JMOL under Rules 50(a) and (b) arguing that the asserted claims of the Network Patents and the Quality of Service Patent are invalid. In the alternative, Cox requested a new trial on invalidity in the event the district court were to grant Verizon a new trial on infringement. The district court denied all of these motions and both parties appeal.

We discuss the parties' arguments in the following order. First, we discuss Verizon's argument that a new trial is necessary for both validity and infringement of all the asserted claims in all six patents because Cox improperly made arguments to the jury about claim scope. Second, we discuss the challenges to the jury's verdicts on validity of the asserted claims of the Feature Patents. This includes Verizon's request for JMOL that the Feature Patents are not invalid and, in the alternative, its request for a new trial on validity of the Feature Patents because of an allegedly improper argument by Cox. This section also includes Cox's cross-appeal of the denial of its motion for JMOL that the Network Patents and the Quality of Service Patent are invalid and its alternative motion for new trial. Third, we discuss the challenges to the jury's verdicts finding no infringement, including Verizon's request for JMOL of infringement of claim 1 of the '481 patent and its request for a new trial on infringement of the asserted claims of the Quality of Service Patent based on its allegation that the district court misconstrued a claim term.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1295(a)(1) (2006).

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

JMOL is appropriate when "there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to...