No Divided Infringement Where Step Performed by Third Party is Part of Non-Limiting Preamble

The court denied defendant's motion for summary judgment of noninfringement on the basis of divided infringement because the method step allegedly performed by a third party was part of a preamble and therefore not limiting. "[Defendant's] analysis suggests that it does not infringe because another party provides the responsive signals. Here, the claimed methods state that they are 'for use' with remote terminals that provide responsive signals. Thus, the preamble as a whole is not limiting because it merely states the intended purpose of the invention. To infringe [those claims], the accused infringer does not need to provide the responsive signals; it needs to perform steps that operate on those signals in the prescribed manner."

Ronald A Katz Technology Licensing L P v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc et al, 2-07-cv-04958 (CACD December 3, 2010, Order) (Klausner, J.)