Black & Decker Inc. v. Robert Bosch Tool Corp.

476 F. Supp. 2d 887, 84 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1307, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11662, 2007 WL 551550
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedFebruary 20, 2007
Docket04 C 7955
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 476 F. Supp. 2d 887 (Black & Decker Inc. v. Robert Bosch Tool Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Black & Decker Inc. v. Robert Bosch Tool Corp., 476 F. Supp. 2d 887, 84 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1307, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11662, 2007 WL 551550 (N.D. Ill. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

AMY J. ST. EVE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Black & Decker Inc. and Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc. (collectively “Black & Decker”) accused Defendant Robert Bosch Tool Corporation’s (“Bosch”) Power Box radio chargers of infringing various claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,308,059 (the “'059 patent”) and 6,788,925 (the “'925 patent”) that relate to rugged jobsite radios. On September 22, 2006, a jury returned a verdict finding that the Bosch Power Box radio chargers infringed certain claims of both patents-in-suit. The jury also found that claims 2 and 10 of the '925 patent were invalid as anticipated and obvious under 35 U.S.C. §§ 102(b), 103(a). Before the Court is Black & Decker’s Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b) concerning Bosch’s invalidity defenses. For the following reasons, the Court grants Black & Decker’s motion. 1

Claims 2 and 10 of the '925 Patent

Claim 2 of the '925 patent recites:

2. A durable portable radio for trades-workers comprising:
an enclosure;
a radio disposed in said enclosure and including a radio receiver for receiving radio signals and generating audio output signals responsive thereto; an AC powered DC charger for powering said radio and charging a removable DC voltage power source, said charger generating a first DC output voltage having a magnitude sufficient to power said radio;' a removable DC power supply disposed in said enclosure for powering said radio and being charged by said charger, said. DC power supply being selected to generate a second DC output voltage having a magnitude in a range that includes voltages both lower and higher than the magnitude of said'first DC output voltage from said charger;
a power conversion circuit enabling said removable power supply to power said radio and be charged by said charger, regardless of the magnitude *891 of the second DC output voltage from said removable power supply.

(PTX 2, U.S. Patent U.S. 6,788,925 B2.)

Claim 10 of the '925 Patent recites:
10. A durable portable radio for tradesworkers comprising:
a weather and impact resistant enclosure having an exterior surface and an interior space;
radio receiver means for receiving radio signals and generating electronic audio output signals responsive thereto;
said exterior surface having a plurality of surfaces,
an antenna extending from one surface of said plurality of surfaces,
a handle[,]
a ventilation opening extending from said interior space of said radio, a first power source including an electrical cord engageable with an electrical outlet,
an adapter engageable with a removable secondary rechargeable direct current power source, said removable secondary rechargeable direct current power source engagable [sic] with a remote direct current powered hand tool,
a charger to charge said secondary rechargeable direct current power source from said first power source, and wherein said second power source includes a battery pack having a voltage of between about 9.6 to about 18 volts.

LEGAL STANDARD

The law of the Seventh Circuit controls the standard for motions for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50 because they involve procedural issues not unique to patent law. See NTP, Inc. v. Research in Motion, Ltd., 418 F.3d 1282, 1324 (Fed. Cir.2005). When ruling on a motion for judgment as a matter of law following a jury verdict, the Court does not re-weigh the evidence presented at trial or make credibility determinations. See Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000); see Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(b). Instead, the Court views the evidence and all reasonable inferences in a light most favorable to the non-movant, in this instance, Bosch. See Reeves, 530 U.S. at 150-51, 120 S.Ct. 2097; Erickson v. Wisconsin Dep’t Corr., 469 F.3d 600, 601 (7th Cir. 2006). “[T]he question is not whether the jury believed the right people, but only whether it was presented with a legally sufficient amount of evidence from which it could reasonably derive its verdict.” Zelinski v. Columbia 300, Inc., 335 F.3d 633, 638 (7th Cir.2003). In other words, the Court will overturn the jury’s verdict only if no reasonable juror could have found in Bosch’s favor. See Erickson, 469 F.3d at 601. “This is obviously a difficult standard to meet.” Waite v. Board of Trustees of Ill. Cmty. Coll. Dist. 508, 408 F.3d 339, 343 (7th Cir.2005).

ANALYSIS

I. Anticipation — 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)

A. Legal Standard

Black & Decker argues that there was insufficient trial evidence upon which the jury could find that claims 2 and 10 of the '925 patent were invalid as anticipated. Under Section 102(b), a patent is anticipated if “the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public, use or on sale in this country, more than one year prior to the date of the application for patent in the United States.” A “patent claim is invalid as anticipated if every limitation in a claim is found in a single prior *892 art reference, either explicitly or inherently.” Impax Labs., Inc. v. Aventis Pharm. Inc., 468 F.3d 1366, 1381 (Fed.Cir.2006). In addition, for “prior art to anticipate a claim ‘it must be sufficient to enable one with ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention.’ ” SmithKline Beecham Corp. v. Apotex Corp., 403 F.3d 1331, 1342 (Fed.Cir.2005) (quotation omitted). “Anticipation is a factual determination that is reviewed for substantial evidence when decided by a jury.” Koito Mfg. v. Turn-Key-Tech LLC, 381 F.3d 1142, 1149 (Fed. Cir.2004).

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476 F. Supp. 2d 887, 84 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1307, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11662, 2007 WL 551550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/black-decker-inc-v-robert-bosch-tool-corp-ilnd-2007.