Thursday, December 29, 2011

Jury Finds Claims Drafted To Cover Infringing Product Not Infringed And Lacking Written Description

At trial, the jury heard argument that plaintiff specifically drafted three claims of the patent-in-suit to cover defendant's artificial lumbar disc devices. At plaintiff’s request, the court instructed the jury that "there is nothing improper in filing a patent application for the purpose of obtaining a right to exclude a known competitor's product from the market." Nevertheless, the jury found (i) that plaintiff failed to prove that the accused devices "include all requirements of each [asserted] claim of the [patent-in-suit]," and (ii) that defendants proved "by clear and convincing evidence that the specification of the [patent-in-suit] does not contain an adequate written description supporting [the independent claim on which the other two asserted claims depend]."

Synthes (USA) v. Spinal Kinetics Inc., 5-09-cv-01201 (CAND December 13, 2011)

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