Fisher-Price, Inc. v. Safety 1st, Inc.

109 F. App'x 387
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedAugust 16, 2004
DocketNos. 03-1644, 04-1004
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 109 F. App'x 387 (Fisher-Price, Inc. v. Safety 1st, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fisher-Price, Inc. v. Safety 1st, Inc., 109 F. App'x 387 (Fed. Cir. 2004).

Opinion

DECISION

SCHALL, Circuit Judge.

Defendants-Appellants Safety 1st, Inc., Dorel Juvenile Group, Inc., and Dorel Design and Development, LLC (collectively “Safety 1st”) appeal the judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware holding Safety 1st liable for infringement of United States Patent Nos. 5,947,552 (the “ ’552 patent”), 6,274,-755 (the “ ’755 patent”), and Des. 431,940 (the “D’940 patent”) and entering a permanent injunction in favor of Plaintiff-Cross Appellant Fisher-Price, Inc. (“Fisher-Price”). Fisher-Price, Inc. v. Safety 1st, Inc., 279 F.Supp.2d 530 (D.Del.2003). Fisher-Price cross-appeals the district court’s exclusion of certain evidence relating to damages for infringement of the ’755 patent. Further proceedings on damages have been stayed pending appeal. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1292(c).

On Safety lst’s appeal, we affirm the judgment of infringement with respect to the ’552 and ’755 patents. However, we reverse the judgment of infringement with respect to the D’940 patent. We therefore affirm the entry of the permanent injunction. On Fisher-Price’s cross-appeal, we modify the district court’s order relating to damages.

DISCUSSION

I.

The patents at issue relate generally to various carriers, strollers, and bassinets for infants. The ’552 patent, entitled “Collapsible Bassinet/Infant Seat with Canopy,” is directed to an “infant receptacle” that is “convertible between a bassinet configuration and an infant seat configuration.” ’552 patent, col. 1, 11. 66-67. The child can thus sit up or he down, depending on the configuration of the product. The ’755 patent, entitled “Child Carrier Harness,” is directed to a child harness that includes “both a means for adjusting the harness ... while at the same time providing a comfortable seating/lying area that is relatively free of strap adjustment buckles or other obstructing harness restraint members.” ’755 patent, col. 1,11. 51-55. The D’940 patent is a design patent covering an ornamental design for a “Children’s Play Space.” It is directed to a ribbed canopy-like structure that encloses, for example, an infant seat or bassinet. Fisher-Price is the assignee of all three patents.

The accused products are Safety lst’s Magic Motion Bassinet (“Magic motion”) and 2-in-l Bouncenette (“Bouncenette”). These products are similar to each other in several ways. Both products are canopy covered bassinets designed to hold an infant that cannot crawl or walk. Both the Bouncenette and the Magic Motion products also have an infant support surface, part of which can be maintained in a angled position by two pairs of buckled straps, one pair supporting the left side of the surface and the other supporting the right side. There are three models of the Bouncenette. For claricy, we a,dopt the district court’s nomenclature and refer to them as Bouncenettes 1, 2, and 3. Fisher-Price, 279 F.Supp.2d at 536 n.1.

II.

On January 26, 2001, Fisher-Price filed suit against Safety 1st, alleging infringe[390]*390ment of several patents, including the ’552, ’755, and D’940 patents. In response, Safety 1st asserted the affirmative defense of invalidity with respect to all three patents. In due course, the district court held a Markman hearing and issued an order construing the disputed terms of the ’552 patent. Fisher-Price, Inc. v. Safety 1st, Inc., 2002 WL 500572, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5734 (D.Del.2002) (“Markman Order”). There were no disputed claim terms in the ’755 patent or the D’940 patent. Consequently, there were no Markman proceedings as far as those patents were concerned. Following the Markman Order, the parties filed various summary judgment motions. The only one of these motions that was granted by the court was Safety lst’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement under the doctrine of equivalents with respect to the ’552 patent. Fisher-Price, Inc. v. Safety 1st, Inc., 2002 WL 1307333, *13-14, *19-20, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10569 *47, *59-60 (D.Del.2002) (“Summary Judgment Order”). The court denied all remaining summary judgment motions related to the three patents. Id. 2002 WL 1307333 at *13, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10569 at *39.

A jury trial commenced on January 13, 2003. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury returned a verdict: (1) that Bouncenettes 1, 2, and 3, as well as the Magic Motion product, literally infringed claim 36 of the ’552 patent; (2) that claim 36 of the ’552 patent was not invalid by reason of obviousness or anticipation; (3) that Bouncenettes 1, 2, and 3, as well as the Magic Motion product infringed claims 1 through 16 of the ’755 patent; (4) that the ’755 patent was not invalid by reason of an inadequate written description; (5) that the Bouncenette 1 infringed the D’940 patent; (6) that the ’755 and D’940 patents were not invalid due to the on-sale bar of 35 U.S.C. § 102(b); (7) that Fisher-Price began marking substantially all applicable products with the D’940 patent number on November, 16 2000; (8) that Safety lst’s infringement was willful; (9) that Fisher-Price was entitled to lost profits damages totaling $1,000,000 arising from infringement of the ’552 and ’755 patents; and (10) that Fisher-Price was entitled to $900,000 in lost profits damages arising from infringement of the D’940 design patent. Fisher-Price, 279 F.Supp.2d at 536.

Following the jury’s verdict, the parties filed various motions for Judgment as a Matter of Law (“JMOL”) pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 50(b). While the district court found no basis to disturb most aspects of the jury’s verdicts of liability,1 it did grant a new trial on damages. Id. at 550, 554. Finally, the court entered a permanent injunction against Safety 1st.

Safety 1st appeals the district court’s denial of its JMOL motions regarding (1) the validity of the ’755 patent and D’940 patents, (2) infringement of the D’940 patent, (3) infringement of the ’552 patent, and (4) the period for which damages may be recovered for infringement of the ’552 and ’740 patents. Additionally, Safety 1st appeals the district court’s denial of its motion to amend its complaint to plead inequitable conduct with respect to the D’940 patent. For its part, Fisher-Price asserts on cross-appeal that the district court abused its discretion when it excluded evidence of infringement by one of the accused products from the damages retrial, even though the jury found infringement of that product by Safety 1st.

[391]*391in.

A. Standard of Review

We review a district court’s decision to deny a motion for JMOL de novo, reapplying the same JMOL standard employed by the district court. Catalina Lighting, Inc. v. Lamps Plus, Inc., 295 F.3d 1277, 1284 (Fed.Cir.2002). JMOL is appropriate only 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.” Fed.R.Civ.P.

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Bluebook (online)
109 F. App'x 387, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisher-price-inc-v-safety-1st-inc-cafc-2004.