Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co.

315 F. Supp. 3d 977
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedMay 23, 2018
DocketCase No. 16 C 6097
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 315 F. Supp. 3d 977 (Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., 315 F. Supp. 3d 977 (illinoised 2018).

Opinion

Harry D. Leinenweber, Judge

Plaintiff Chamberlain Group, Inc. ("Chamberlain") won a jury verdict against Defendants Techtronic Industries Co., Ltd., Techtronic Industries North America, Inc., One World Technologies, Inc., *986OWT Industries, Inc., Et Technology (WUXI) Co. Ltd., and Ryobi Technologies (collectively, "TTI"), in which the jury found that TTI willfully infringed two of Chamberlain's patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,224,275 ("the '275 patent") and 7,635,966 ("the '966 patent"). Both parties have filed post-trial motions. This opinion presumes familiarity with the case's background, as described in this Court's previous rulings. (See, e.g. , Dkt. 104 (preliminary injunction opinion); Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., No. 16 C 6097, 2017 WL 368027 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 23, 2017) (contempt opinion); Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., No. 16 C 6097, 2017 WL 1304559 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 7, 2017) (claim construction opinion); Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., No. 16 C 6097, 2017 WL 3205772 (N.D. Ill. June 28, 2017) (order denying motion to transfer venue).)

I. TTI's Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

The Court "should render judgment as a matter of law when a party has been fully heard on an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for that party on that issue." Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., 530 U.S. 133, 149, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (quoting FED. R. CIV. P. 50(a) ). This is a stringent standard under which the Court "construe[s] the facts strictly in favor of the party that prevailed at trial." Schandelmeier-Bartels v. Chi. Park Dist., 634 F.3d 372, 376 (7th Cir. 2011) (citations omitted). On a motion for JMOL, "the court does not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence," id. , though the Court must "disregard all evidence favorable to the moving party that the jury is not required to believe." Reeves, 530 U.S. at 151, 120 S.Ct. 2097. The court leaves the jury's factual findings "undisturbed as long as they are supported by substantial evidence," i.e., "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Cable & Wireless Internet Servs., Inc., 344 F.3d 1186, 1192 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (quoting Consol. Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938) ).

In its renewed Motion for JMOL, TTI argues it is entitled to judgment because: (1) the asserted '275 patent claims are directed to ineligible subject matter under Alice Corp. Pty. v. CLS Bank Int'l, --- U.S. ----, 134 S.Ct. 2347, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014) ; (2) the '275 patent was anticipated or rendered obvious by prior art; (3) TTI's products do not literally infringe the '275 patent ; (4) the doctrine of equivalents does not apply here, and the jury should not have considered it; (5) TTI does not induce infringement of the '275 patent, (6) TTI does not willfully infringe the '275 patent ; (7) the '966 patent was anticipated or rendered obvious by prior art; (8) TTI does not literally infringe the '966 patent ; (9) TTI does not induce infringement of the '966 patent ; (10) TTI does not willfully infringe the '966 patent ; and (11) Chamberlain failed to prove damages. The Court takes each argument in turn.

A. Ineligibility of Asserted '275 Patent Claims

Anyone who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof" may obtain a patent. 35 U.S.C. § 101. But because patent protection does not extend to claims that monopolize the "building blocks of human ingenuity," claims directed to laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patent eligible. Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2354. The Supreme Court instructs courts to distinguish between those claims directed to patent-ineligible subject matter and those that "integrate the building blocks into something more." Id. To do so, courts follow the two-step *987Alice framework. Id. First, a court must "determine whether the claims at issue are directed to a patent-ineligible concept." Id. at 2355. If they are not so directed, the claims satisfy § 101, and the inquiry ends. Visual Memory LLC v.

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315 F. Supp. 3d 977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chamberlain-grp-inc-v-techtronic-indus-co-illinoised-2018.