Bose Corp. v. SDI Technologies, Inc.

828 F. Supp. 2d 415, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142594, 2011 WL 6148681
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedDecember 12, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 09-11439-WGY
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 828 F. Supp. 2d 415 (Bose Corp. v. SDI Technologies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bose Corp. v. SDI Technologies, Inc., 828 F. Supp. 2d 415, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142594, 2011 WL 6148681 (D. Mass. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION CONCERNING PATENT CLAIM CONSTRUCTION

YOUNG, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Bose Corporation (“Bose”) commenced this action against SDI Technologies, Inc. (“SDI”), Imation Corporation (“Imation”), Memorex Products, Inc. (“Memorex”), 3XM Consulting, LLC (“3XM”), and DPI, Inc. (“DPI”), for allegedly infringing its U.S. Patent No. 7,277,765 (the “'765 Patent”), titled Interactive Sound Reproducing. Claims 1-3,13,16-25, 33, 35, and 37-42 of the patent are currently at issue.

The '765 Patent, issued on October 2, 2007, discloses a system for playing digital music from an audio source device. The audio sources include a computer CD player, digitally encoded computer files stored on the computer, and a computer network connected to the computer. See '765 Patent, Abstract. The patent initially concerned Bose’s Wave/PC product. In 2004, Bose launched its SoundDock products, which currently practice the patent. The SoundDock is similar to the Wave/PC, except that where the Wave/PC is designed to work with a personal computer, the SoundDock is designed to work with a smaller, handheld computer, such as the popular iPod and the iPhone.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Claim Construction Principles

Claim construction is an issue of law for the Court. Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 970-71 (Fed.Cir.1995) (en banc), aff'd, 517 U.S. 370, 116 S.Ct. 1384, 134 L.Ed.2d 577 (1996). In construing the claims, this Court generally gives the words of the claims their ordinary and customary meaning in the art at the time of the invention. Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312-13 (Fed.Cir.2005) (en banc).

Claims do not stand alone, they must be “read in view of the specification, of which they are a part.” Id. at 1315 (quoting Markman, 52 F.3d at 979). “[T]he specification is always highly relevant to the claim construction analysis. Usually, it is dispositive; it is the single best guide to the meaning of a disputed term.” Vitronics Corp. v. Conceptronic, Inc., 90 F.3d 1576, 1582 (Fed.Cir.1996).

In addition to the specification, the prosecution history can also supply intrinsic evidence. Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1317. Prosecution history, like the specification, “provides evidence of how the [U.S. Patent and Trademark Office] and the inventor understood the patent.” Id. It also demonstrates “whether the inventor limited the invention in the course of prosecution, making the claim scope narrower than it would otherwise be.” Id.

Finally, extrinsic evidence can also be useful, as it “can shed useful light on [418]*418the relevant art.” Id. Such evidence is, however, less reliable, and “is unlikely to result in a reliable interpretation of patent claim scope unless considered in the context of the intrinsic evidence.” Id. at 1319. In fact, “extrinsic evidence in general, and expert testimony in particular, may be used only to help the court come to the proper understanding of the claims; it may not be used to vary or contradict the claim language.” Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1584.

B. Disputed Terms

The parties originally requested that this Court construe a long list of terms found within the '765 Patent.1 Once again this Court must point out that its duty (and power) to construe claim terms is limited by the “case or controversy” clause of the Constitution, U.S. Const, art. Ill, § 2, cl. 1, to those few terms which make a definitive difference to the claims and defenses of this lawsuit. Where, as here, this Court holds the Markman hearing without reference to the accused device and before it considers the inevitable motions for summary judgment, see Amgen, Inc. v. Hoechst Marion Roussel, Inc., 126 F.Supp.2d 69, 80-81 (D.Mass.2001) (explaining the reasons for this Court’s practice), it behooves the parties to approach the hearing with a sniper rifle, not a blunderbuss. See D. Mass. L.R. 16.6 App. (B)(4)(d) (“The Court suggests that, ordinarily, no more than ten (10) terms per patent be identified as requiring construction.”); accord N.D. Cal. Patent L.R. 4-1(b); D. Idaho Patent L.R. 4.1(b); N.D. Ill. LPR 4.1(b). See generally Travis M. Jensen & Matthew Paik, Patent Local Rules — A Summary & Comparison, PLI’s 6th Annual Patent Law Inst. (2012), for an excellent overview of those districts which have adopted local rules for handling patent cases.

After carefully considering the parties’ arguments made in their briefs and during the November 14, 2011, Markman hearing, this Court deems it necessary and prudent to limit its constructions to a more restricted number of disputed terms. The Court’s constructions are as follows.

1. “Interface” Terms

The term “interface” appears, either explicitly or by reference, in every claim of the '765 Patent. “Interface” appears in claims 1-24, “interface unit” appears in claims 25-34, “interface device” appears in claims 35-36, and “interface module” appears in claims 37-38.

Bose contends that “interface” simply means “a connection,” and that “interface unit,” “interface device,” and “interface module” similarly mean “a connection.” SDI, Imation, Memorex, and DPI propose that “interface” means “circuitry that converts a digital audio signal from an audio source to an analog audio- signal and transmits digital control commands.” As for the other “interface” terms — “interface unit,” “interface module,” and “interface device,” they propose that each term means “a discrete structure that includes the interface.”

a. “Interface”

This Court agrees with SDI, Imation, Memorex, and DPI, and construes “interface” as “circuitry that converts a digital audio signal from an audio source to an analog audio signal and transmits digital control commands.” There is ample support for this construction.

[419]*419i. The Specification

The meaning of “interface” is not apparent from the context in which it is used in the claims. The specification, which “is always highly relevant to the claim construction analysis,” Vitronics, 90 F.3d at 1582, describes two distinct embodiments of the present invention. The first embodiment, seen in Figure 1, includes a sound card 33 (within the computer system 20) that is connected to radio audio signal processing circuitry 14 (of the sound reproduction device 10, i.e., the speaker), by the stereo jack 48 through analog input terminal 49. 765 Patent, col. 3, 11. 59-61. The second embodiment in Figure 2 is the same as that in Figure 1, except that the “[sjound card 33 ... is not needed in this configuration” and the “[sjtereo jack 48 and the audio system control connector 50 of FIG. 1 are replaced by a bus interface connector 52, which connects to an interface unit 54.” Id. at col. 3, 1. 67 — col. 4, 1. 4.

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Related

Bose Corporation v. Sdi Technologies, Inc.
558 F. App'x 1012 (Federal Circuit, 2014)

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828 F. Supp. 2d 415, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142594, 2011 WL 6148681, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bose-corp-v-sdi-technologies-inc-mad-2011.