Amendment of Patent Claims to Distinguish Prior Art Precludes Provisional Rights Damages​

The court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment that plaintiff was not entitled to damages for infringement before one of its patents issued because plaintiff amended the claim language of the application to distinguish the prior art. "The amended language makes 'effective stitch rate' equivalent to the prescribed stitch rate multiplied by the number of yarns, narrows the claim, and distinguishes the [a prior art] Patent. Accordingly, the invention as claimed in the [patent] Application is not substantially identical to the invention as claimed in the [patent-in-suit], and [plaintiff] does not retain provisional rights arising out of Claim 1."

Card-Monroe Corp. v. Tuftco Corp., 1-14-cv-00292 (TNED September 1, 2017, Order) (McDonough, USDJ)