Glaverbel Societe Anonyme v. Northlake Marketing & Supply, Inc.

45 F.3d 1550
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedJanuary 23, 1995
DocketNos. 92-1316, 92-1317
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 45 F.3d 1550 (Glaverbel Societe Anonyme v. Northlake Marketing & Supply, 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
Glaverbel Societe Anonyme v. Northlake Marketing & Supply, Inc., 45 F.3d 1550 (Fed. Cir. 1995).

Opinion

PAULINE NEWMAN, Circuit Judge.

Northlake Marketing & Supply, Inc., Frank Zlamal, Samuel E. May, and Jim Hamilton (together “Northlake”) appeal the judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana,1 upholding the validity of United States Patents Nos. 3,684,560 (the ’560 patent) and 4,489,022 (the ’022 patent), and declining to find fraudulent procurement or that the patents were used to violate the antitrust laws. Glaverbel Société Anonyme and its exclusive licensee Fosbel, Inc. (collectively “Glaverbel”) cross-appeal the grant of Northlake’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement.2 We sustain the judgment on appeal, reverse in part the summary judgment on cross-appeal, and remand for trial of the issue of infringement.

I

PATENT VALIDITY

The Patents in Suit

The ’560 and ’022 patents relate to a ceramic welding process for repairing industrial furnaces. Ceramic welding is described as the process of forming a coherent refractory mass on the furnace wall. In the patented process this is achieved by projecting, against the wall of the furnace, particles of an oxidizable substance that burns exothermically and a refractory substance, whereby an exothermic reaction at the surface welds the refractory mass to the wall. Claim 1 of the ’560 patent, the broadest claim, is as follows:

1. A process of forming a refractory mass comprising the steps of:
projecting against a surface particles of at least one oxidizable substance which burns by combining with oxygen with accompanying evolution of heat, said particles having an average size of less than 50 microns, and particles of at least one different substance, along with a combustion supporting gas,
at least one of said substances being of a composition such that under the heat of combustion of said oxidizable substance a coherent refractory mass is formed from said oxidizable substance and the different substance;
and burning the oxidizable substance substantially entirely while it is being projected against such surface for forming such refractory mass.

Claim 13 defines the “oxidizable substance” as aluminum, silicon, magnesium, or zirconium, and Claim 14 requires that the heat evolved by the burning step raise the temperature of the surface sufficiently to soften the surface.

The broadest claim of the ’022 patent is as follows:

1. A process of forming a refractory mass comprising burning particles of exother[1554]*1554mically oxidizable material having an average grain size of less than 50 |xm while mixed with particles of incombustible refractory material during projection of the mixture against a surface to form a coherent refractory mass on said surface, said oxidizable material comprises silicon and aluminum, the aluminum being present in an amount not exceeding 9% by weight of the total mixture, and wherein the aluminum and silicon are together present in an amount not exceeding 15% by weight of the total mixture.

Glaverbel describes the ’022 patent as an improvement on the ’560 patent, based on the use of silicon and aluminum particles in specified amount and proportions. According to Glaverbel flash-back is minimized, the completeness of the reaction is maximized, the cohesiveness of the refractory mass is improved, and the ratio of heat generated to oxidizable material used is optimized. As a result, states Glaverbel, it is no longer necessary to match the composition of the refractory mass and the furnace wall in order to obtain a satisfactory ceramic weld.

Anticipation

Anticipation is a question of fact. Shatterproof Glass Corp. v. Libbey-Owens Ford Co., 758 F.2d 613, 619, 225 USPQ 634, 637 (Fed.Cir.), cert. dismissed, 474 U.S. 976, 106 S.Ct. 340, 88 L.Ed.2d 326 (1985). When trial is to the court, the district court’s finding with respect to anticipation is reviewed for clear error, with due regard to the burden and standard of proof. Lindemann Maschinenfabrik GMBH v. American Hoist & Derrick Co., 730 F.2d 1452, 1458, 221 USPQ 481, 485 (Fed.Cir.1984).

The district court found that the ’560 and ’022 patents are not invalid for anticipation. Anticipation requires identity of the claimed process and a process of the prior art; the claimed process, including each step thereof, must have been described or embodied, either expressly or inherently, in a single reference. Scripps Clinic & Research Found. v. Genentech Inc., 927 F.2d 1565, 1576, 18 USPQ2d 1001, 1010 (Fed.Cir.1991); see Standard Havens Prods., Inc. v. Gencor Indus., Inc., 953 F.2d 1360, 1369, 21 USPQ2d 1321, 1328 (Fed.Cir.1991) (“Anticipation can occur when a claimed limitation is ‘inherent’ or otherwise implicit in the relevant reference.”)

Northlake relied at trial on Swedish Patent No. 102,083 (the Swedish patent) and United States Patent No. 2,976,166 (the White patent), arguing that the claims of both of the Glaverbel patents overlap with or read on either or both of these references. The district court found that the processes described in the references are not similar to the processes of the patents in suit. North-lake argues that the ’560 and ’022 claims are invalid if they can be read on the prior art, even if the processes are not similar. That is, Northlake argues that the ’560 and ’022 claims can be interpreted so broadly that they include the prior art. Anticipation, however, requires identity of invention: the claimed invention, as described in appropriately construed claims, must be the same as that of the reference, in order to anticipate. Continental Can Co. USA, Inc. v. Monsanto Co., 948 F.2d 1264, 1267, 20 USPQ2d 1746, 1748 (Fed.Cir.1991). See also In re Spado, 911 F.2d 705, 708, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1657 (Fed.Cir.1990) (“the reference must describe the applicant’s claimed invention sufficiently to have placed a person of ordinary skill in the field of the invention in possession of it”).

In determining whether a patented invention is anticipated, the claims are read in the context of the patent specification in which they arise and in which the invention is described. If needed to impart clarity or avoid ambiguity, the prosecution history and the prior art may also be consulted in order to ascertain whether the patentee’s invention is novel or was previously known to the art. Lindemann, 730 F.2d at 1458, 221 USPQ at 485 (“In deciding the issue of anticipation, the trier of fact must identify the elements of the claims, determine their meaning in light of the specification and prosecution history and identify corresponding elements disclosed in the allegedly anticipating reference.”) Cf. Slimfold Mfg. Co. v. Kinkead Indus., Inc., 810 F.2d 1113, 1116, 1 USPQ2d 1563, 1566 (Fed.Cir.1987) (claims are not interpreted “in a vacuum”).

[1555]*1555There was testimony that the prior art processes relate to flame-spraying, not combustion at the furnace wall.

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45 F.3d 1550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glaverbel-societe-anonyme-v-northlake-marketing-supply-inc-cafc-1995.