Manufacturer of Electronic Voting Systems did not Infringe Method Claims Requiring Action by End User Voters

The court granted in part defendant's motion for summary judgment of noninfringement as to claims reciting a method of voting that included steps that could only be performed by the end user voters. "The terms of the claims themselves indicate that a voter performs [certain steps]. In fact, these claims specifically state that the steps are to be performed 'by the voter.' . . . The only evidence in the record directly indicating that [defendant] controls the voters’ actions is the instruction the Accused Systems provide the voters regarding use of the Accused Systems. However, in [Muniauction, Inc. v. Thomson Corp., 532 F.3d 1318 (Fed. Cir. 2008)] the Federal Circuit determined that instructing users on the use of an online auction method constituted insufficient evidence of control to establish any theory of infringement. Moreover, [plaintiff] has identified no legal theory under which [defendant] might be held vicariously liable for the actions of the voters."

Voter Verified, Inc. v. Election Systems & Software, Inc., 6-09-cv-01969 (FLMD September 29, 2010, Order) (Fawsett, J.)