Genuine Enabling Technology LLC v. Sony Group Corporation

Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit·Decided February 19, 2026·No. 24-1686·Published

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC, Plaintiff-Appellant

v.

SONY GROUP CORPORATION, SONY INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT LLC, Defendants-Appellees

2024-1686

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Delaware in No. 1:17-cv-00135-MSG, Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg.

Decided: February 19, 2026

DEVAN V. PADMANABHAN, Padmanabhan & Dawson PLLC, Minneapolis, MN, argued for plaintiff-appellant. Also represented by MICHELLE DAWSON, ERIN DUNGAN, BRITTA LOFTUS, PAUL J. ROBBENNOLT.

SETH W. LLOYD, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Washington , DC, argued for defendants-appellees. Also represented by CLIFFORD T. BRAZEN, ADAM PRESCOTT SEITZ, Erise IP, P.A., Overland Park, KS.

2 GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC v.

SONY GROUP CORPORATION

Before DYK, TARANTO, and CHEN, Circuit Judges.

CHEN, Circuit Judge.

Genuine Enabling Technology LLC (GET) appeals the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware’s grant of summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of Sony Group Corporation & Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (collectively, Sony). Genuine Enabling Tech. LLC v. Sony Corp., No. 17-CV-135, 2024 WL 1255513, at *1 (D. Del. Mar. 25, 2024) (Decision). The district court determined that GET raised no genuine issue of material fact as to whether Sony’s Accused Products—PlayStation 3 and 4 controllers and consoles—infringe claims 10, 14, 16–18, and 21–23 of U.S. Patent No. 6,219,730 (’730 patent). Id. GET also appeals the district court’s exclusion of testimony from its expert, Dr. Fernald. Genuine Enabling Tech. LLC v. Sony Corp., No. 17-CV-135, 2022 WL 17325656, at *8 (D. Del. Nov. 28, 2022) (Daubert Order). The key claim limitation in this dispute is a means-plus-function limitation— “encoding means for synchronizing” two input data streams—and the specification describes FIG. 4A’s logic block 34, a logic design circuit containing a multitude of elements, as the corresponding structure for performing the synchronizing function. Because GET and its expert failed to account for many of the elements in block 34 in their infringement analysis, we agree with the district court that GET presented a deficient infringement case as to this limitation and we thus affirm.

BACKGROUND

I

The ’730 patent generally relates to input devices for a computer. At the time of invention, there were several options for user-input devices for a computer including a keyboard , mouse, or pen-based input device. Additional input data could come from sources like a microphone or modem. In order to receive data from these sources, a computer

GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC v. 3 SONY GROUP CORPORATION

needed dedicated resources for each input device (e.g., their own port), which created problems due to limited resources. See ’730 patent col. 1 ll. 24–29. The ’730 patent discloses a solution to the limited resources problem: combining the data streams from different input devices to minimize the number of computer resources. Id. col. 1 ll. 47–51.

Dependent claim 10 is representative 1 and states: A user input apparatus operatively coupled to a computer via a communication means additionally receiving at least one input signal, comprising:

user input means for producing a user input stream; input means for producing the at least one input signal; converting means for receiving the at least one input signal and producing therefrom an input stream; and encoding means for synchronizing the user input stream with the input stream and encoding the same into a combined data stream transferable by the communication means, wherein the input means is an input transducer .

Id. col. 8 ll. 26–27; id. col. 7 l. 61 – col. 8 l. 4 (emphasis added).

1 Claim 10 is a dependent claim that depends from claim 1. The reproduction here incorporates the limitations of claim 1 into claim 10.

4 GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC v.

SONY GROUP CORPORATION

Each of claims 10, 14, 16–18, and 21–23 (Asserted Claims) includes an “encoding means” 2 limitation, emphasized above. The ’730 patent specification states that the claimed structure “keeps [user input] stream 24 and input stream 33 in synchrony and encodes[ 3] them into [a] combined data stream 37 in accordance with the protocol of the communication means.” Id. col. 4 ll. 12–15 (cleaned up).

Id., FIG. 4A.

The ’730 patent discloses a representative embodiment of the “encoding means” (also referred to as a “framer”):

2 Terms used in the Asserted Claims include “encoding means,” “framer,” and “means for synchronizing and encoding.” Both parties agree these terms refer to the same means-plus-function limitation, and the district court gave them all the same construction. See Appellant Br. 6– 7; Appellee Br. 14 n.1; Decision, 2024 WL 1255513, at *1. For simplicity, we refer to all versions as the “encoding means” limitations.

3 We focus on the synchronize function in this opinion because, as the district court noted, it “best illustrates” the issues. See Daubert Order, 2022 WL 17325656, at *3.

GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC v. 5 SONY GROUP CORPORATION

logic block 34 in FIG. 4A as depicted above. See id. col. 5 ll. 4–6. Several components of logic block 34 are depicted as boxes including data selector 50, clock generator 62, and oscillator OSC. Id. col. 5 ll. 47–50, 59–62.

The specification includes a detailed description of block 34’s multi-step synchronization process. See generally id. col. 5 ll. 35–64. According to the specification, clock generator 62 divides the signal from oscillator OSC to create bit-rate clock signal BCLK. Clock generator 62 feeds signal BCLK into codec 30, which converts input signal 31 into input stream 33. Input stream 33 is further converted into digital input stream SX. Clock generator 62 also forms control signal SEL, used by data selector 50. Using control signal SEL, data selector 50 “samples” bits from (i.e., selects between) user input stream 24 and input stream SX, storing the data in a single output signal RXD*—thereby synchronizing the two data streams.

II

On February 8, 2017, GET filed a complaint against Sony, alleging that Sony directly and indirectly infringes the Asserted Claims via the Accused Products. For the “encoding means” limitations, GET alleged that the Bluetooth module within the Accused Products synchronized user input from controller buttons with input from controller sensors (e.g., accelerometers).

In a March 9, 2020 Markman order, the district court construed the “encoding means” limitations as means-plusfunction limitations. Genuine Enabling Tech., LLC v. Sony Corp., No. CV 17-135, 2020 WL 1140910, at *14, *20–21 (D. Del. Mar. 9, 2020) (Markman Order). The court did so because the claim terms “encoding means” and “framer” failed to sufficiently denote structure to a skilled artisan, and thus 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) applied. Id. The court construed the “encoding means” limitations’ function as “[s]ynchronizing the user input stream with the input stream and encoding the user input stream and the input stream 6 GENUINE ENABLING TECHNOLOGY LLC v.

SONY GROUP CORPORATION

into a combined data stream.” And it construed the corresponding structure as “[t]he logic design at block 34 in Figure 4A and equivalents thereof.” Id. No party ever suggested that the corresponding structure should be only some portion of block 34.

On the final day of fact discovery, January 22, 2021, GET served subpoenas on three of Sony’s manufacturing partners, seeking discovery on the internal structure of the Bluetooth module in the Accused Products. See J.A. 1459; see also J.A. 43. The district court denied GET’s request to extend the close of fact discovery, see J.A. 3212, and thus GET and Dr. Fernald never analyzed a schematic of the Bluetooth module.

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