Data Race, Inc. v. Lucent Technologies, Inc.

73 F. Supp. 2d 698, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20770, 1999 WL 1075445
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedOctober 29, 1999
DocketCIV.A. SA98CA746PMA
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 73 F. Supp. 2d 698 (Data Race, Inc. v. Lucent Technologies, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Data Race, Inc. v. Lucent Technologies, Inc., 73 F. Supp. 2d 698, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20770, 1999 WL 1075445 (W.D. Tex. 1999).

Opinion

*703 FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND MEMORANDUM OPINION

MATHY, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pursuant to the consent of the parties filed on November 6, 1998, 1 in compliance with Fed.R.Civ.P. 52, 56 and 65, the Court enters the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Memorandum Opinion in connection with the combined evidentiary hearing on plaintiffs motion for issuance of a preliminary injunction and claims construction hearing, which began on August 30, 1999 and concluded on September 17, 1999. As discussed below, this Order also decides other issues raised by defendant’s motion for summary judgment and plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment.

I. JURISDICTION

The Court has jurisdiction over plaintiffs claims that defendant- has infringed its patent, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338(a) and 2201(a), and over defendant’s counterclaim for declaratory judgment that plaintiffs patent is invalid and not infringed by defendant, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338(a), 2201 and 2202. Venue is proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b).

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

This case concerns claims of- alleged patent infringement. Data Race, Inc. (“plaintiff’ or “Data Race”) filed its original complaint and motion for issuance of a preliminary injunction on August 18, 1998 alleging that defendant Lucent Technologies, Inc. (“defendant” or “Lucent”) has infringed one of its patents, United States Patent No. 5,764,639 (“ ’639 patent”); misappropriated confidential and proprietary information in breach of contract and theft of trade secrets; violated the Sherman Antitrust Act; and engaged in unfair competition. 2 Among other allegations, Data Race averred that Lucent Technologies’ operation of Lucent’s Internet Telephony Server for Enterprises (“ITS-E”) with Lucent’s Virtual Telephone application infringed the ’639 patent used in plaintiffs competing product marketed under the name “Be There!”

On September 17, 1998 the Court set a September 25, 1998 hearing to address plaintiffs request for expedited discovery and defendant’s request to stay the case pending arbitration. The September 17 Order also called upon plaintiff to file an advisory on or before September 22, 1999 to inform the Court whether it wished to proceed with an evidentiary hearing on its motion for preliminary injunction on September 25. 3 On September 21,1998 defendant filed an advisory informing the Court that defendant had decided not to offer Virtual Telephone for general distribution and that no release date had been selected. 4 On September 22, 1998 plaintiff filed an advisory in which it withdrew its request for a preliminary injunction. 5 Therefore, the September 25, 1998 hearing did not address the issuance of a preliminary injunction.

Following the September 25 hearing, on October 2, 1998, the undersigned issued a report to the District Court recommending, inter alia, that plaintiffs motion for expedited discovery and defendant’s motion for stay pending arbitration each be denied. 6 With specific respect to plaintiffs motion for preliminary injunction and in reference to plaintiffs advisories, 7 the undersigned recommended that the portion of the Complaint that had been construed as a motion for preliminary injunction be denied without prejudice to plaintiff “filing a separate motion for a preliminary injunction with a request for an evidentiary *704 hearing after it has obtained the preliminary discovery which it believes it is required to support its application.” 8 On October 27, 1998 the District Court accepted that report. 9 That same day, plaintiffs first amended complaint, which asserted only claims of patent infringement, the “live” complaint at issue in this case, was filed. 10 Lucent had answered plaintiffs first amended complaint on October 19, 1998 asserting the defenses of non-infringement, invalidity (for anticipation and obviousness) and unenforceability (for inequitable conduct) and asserting a counterclaim for declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity of the ’639 patent.

On August 3, 1999 plaintiff filed its renewed motion for issuance of a preliminary injunction. 11 In sum, plaintiff argues that after plaintiffs’ first request for preliminary injunction, Lucent shifted the Virtual Telephone application from the original hardware platform (the ITS-E server) to a different platform, the MultiMedia Communications Exchange (“MMCX”) server, release 3.0, and decided to offer the Virtual Telephone for sale in conjunction with the new MMCX release 3.0 server. Plaintiff argues that the Virtual Telephone continues to infringe the ’639 patent because the elements of the invention claimed in the ’639 patent are included in the MMCX, release 3.0, with the Virtual Telephone application. Plaintiff requests a preliminary injunction to prevent Lucent from “making, using, selling or offering to sell its ... [MMCX] ... server, release 3.0, which includes a Virtual Telephone application (“Virtual Telephone”).” 12 Plaintiff asserts infringement of claims 1, 14 and 39 of the ’639 patent. 13

Lucent argues, in sum, that Data Race’s request for a preliminary injunction should be denied for five reasons. First, Lucent argues that Virtual Telephone does not infringe the ’639 patent. Second, Lucent argues that even if there is infringement, the MMCX server, including the concept and technology for the Virtual Telephone, was invented prior to the date plaintiff filed its patent application and, therefore, the ’639 patent is invalid. Third, Lucent argues that the ’639 patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a) and (e) because it was anticipated by the prior art and under 35 U.S.C. § 103

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Bluebook (online)
73 F. Supp. 2d 698, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20770, 1999 WL 1075445, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/data-race-inc-v-lucent-technologies-inc-txwd-1999.