Plaintiff Denied Damages Based on Alleged Convoyed Sales of Toner and Ink by Accused Printers

Defendants were entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff's damages theory that sales of ink and toner were convoyed with sales of defendants' accused multi-function (print, scan, fax, copy) machines and therefore should be included in the reasonable royalty calculation. The patent-in-suit claimed an "information station" or "switching device" that "converts paper documents into digital images, stores those digital images, retrieves them on command, and prints them on command." The court explained: "Plaintiffs have not shown that the toner and ink cartridges are more than merely consumable supplies. Plaintiffs have not shown that they would have sold the ancillary or collateral convoyed products with their [asserted] patent. Plaintiffs never manufactured their patent nor offered to sell their patent. Plaintiffs cannot show that they would have anticipated the sale of the toner and ink cartridges but for the alleged infringement of the [asserted] patent by [defendants]."

Kirsch v. Xerox Corp., 2-00-cv-72778 (MIED March 27, 2009, Memorandum Opinion & Order)