Litepanels, Ltd. v. Flolight, LLC

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedJuly 21, 2021
Docket2:20-cv-00344
StatusUnknown

This text of Litepanels, Ltd. v. Flolight, LLC (Litepanels, Ltd. v. Flolight, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Litepanels, Ltd. v. Flolight, LLC, (E.D. Tex. 2021).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS MARSHALL DIVISION

LITEPANELS, LTD. and VITEC PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS, INC., formerly known as VITEC VIDEOCOM, INC., Plaintiffs, Case No. 2:20-cv-00344-JRG v. FLOLIGHT, LLC,, Defendant.

CLAIM CONSTRUCTION MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court are three claim construction briefs submitted by Litepanels, Ltd. and Vitec Production Solutions, Inc. (collectively “Plaintiffs”) and three claim construction briefs submitted by Flolight, LLC (“Defendant”). Plaintiffs submit an opening brief (Dkt. No. 43, filed on June 7, 2021),1 a responsive brief (Dkt. No. 49, filed on June 22, 2021), and a reply brief (Dkt. No. 53, filed on July 6, 2021). Defendant submits an opening brief (Dkt. No. 42, filed on June 7, 2021), a responsive brief (Dkt. No. 47, filed on June 21, 2021), and a reply brief (Dkt. No. 52, filed on July 6, 2021). The Court held a hearing on the issues of claim construction and claim definiteness on July 19, 2021. Having considered the arguments and evidence presented by the parties at the hearing and in their briefing, the Court issues this Order.

1 Citations to the parties’ filings are to the filing’s number in the docket (Dkt. No.) and pin cites are to the page numbers assigned through ECF. Table of Contents I. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................... 3 II. LEGAL PRINCIPLES ..................................................................................................... 4 A. Claim Construction ................................................................................................. 4 B. Departing from the Ordinary Meaning of a Claim Term ........................................ 7 III. AGREED CONSTRUCTIONS ....................................................................................... 8 IV. CONSTRUCTION OF DISPUTED TERMS ................................................................. 8 A. “frame” .................................................................................................................... 8 B. “frame having a front,” “light elements disposed on the front of the frame,” “portable frame having a front,” and “light elements disposed on the front surface of the frame” .............................................................................. 11 V. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 16 I. BACKGROUND Plaintiffs allege infringement of U.S. Patent No. 7,792,022 (the “’022 Patent”). The ’022 Patent is entitled Stand-Mounted Light Panel for Natural Illumination in Film, Television or Video. Through a series of continuation and continuation-in-part applications, the patent lists an earliest

priority claim to an application filed on September 7, 2001. In general, the Asserted Patents are directed to technology for a lighting apparatus as can be used, e.g., in illuminating subjects for image capture by a camera. The abstract of the ’022 Patent provides as follows: A lighting apparatus comprises a light panel having a panel frame, and a plurality of LEDs or other light elements secured to the panel frame. A self-contained battery unit securably attaches to the outside of the panel frame. The light panel may have a dimmer switch, and may also be capable of receiving power from a source other than the self-contained battery unit. The lighting apparatus can be mounted to a camera or a stand through adapters. Diffusion lenses or color gels can be integrated with or detachable from the light panel. The lighting apparatus may conveniently be provided in the form of a kit, with one or more of a light panel, self-contained battery unit, compact stand, connecting cable(s), adapter(s), lenses or color gels, and so on, provided in a single package. Claims 1 and 50 of the ’022 Patent, the two independent claims of the patent, recite as follows (with terms in dispute emphasized): 1. An apparatus for illuminating a subject for film, photography or video, the apparatus comprising: a frame having a front; a plurality of semiconductor light elements disposed on the front of the frame and configured to provide a continuous source of illumination, said semiconductor light elements having a color temperature suitable for image capture, at least one of said semiconductor light elements individually emitting light in a daylight color temperature range or a tungsten color temperature range; and a dimmer whereby an illumination intensity of said semiconductor light elements may be user adjusted; wherein said frame is adapted for being mounted to and readily disengaged from a stand. 50. An apparatus for illuminating a subject for film, photography or video, the apparatus comprising: a portable frame having a front surface; a plurality of semiconductor light elements disposed on the front surface of the frame and configured to provide a continuous source of illumination, said semiconductor light elements having a color temperature suitable for image capture, at least half of said semiconductor light elements individually emitting light over a daylight color spectrum or a tungsten color spectrum; and a dimmer whereby an illumination intensity of said semiconductor light elements may be user adjusted by modifying an electrical current to said semiconductor light elements; wherein said frame comprises a receptor for detachably mounting to a stationary object or surface, whereby the frame may be swiveled and/or tilted. II. LEGAL PRINCIPLES A. Claim Construction “It is a ‘bedrock principle’ of patent law that ‘the claims of a patent define the invention to which the patentee is entitled the right to exclude.’” Phillips v. AWH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc) (quoting Innova/Pure Water Inc. v. Safari Water Filtration Sys., Inc., 381 F.3d 1111, 1115 (Fed. Cir. 2004)). To determine the meaning of the claims, courts start by considering the intrinsic evidence. Id. at 1313; C.R. Bard, Inc. v. U.S. Surgical Corp., 388 F.3d 858, 861 (Fed. Cir. 2004); Bell Atl. Network Servs., Inc. v. Covad Commc’ns Group, Inc., 262 F.3d 1258, 1267 (Fed. Cir. 2001). The intrinsic evidence includes the claims themselves, the specification, and the prosecution history. Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1314; C.R. Bard, Inc., 388 F.3d at 861. The general rule—subject to certain specific exceptions discussed infra—is that each claim term is construed according to its ordinary and accustomed meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention in the context of the patent. Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1312–13; Alloc, Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 342 F.3d 1361, 1368 (Fed. Cir. 2003); Azure Networks, LLC v. CSR PLC, 771 F.3d 1336, 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2014) (“There is a heavy presumption that claim terms carry their accustomed meaning in the relevant community at the relevant time.”) (vacated on other grounds). “The claim construction inquiry … begins and ends in all cases with the actual words of the claim.” Renishaw PLC v. Marposs Societa’ per Azioni, 158 F.3d 1243, 1248 (Fed. Cir. 1998). “[I]n all aspects of claim construction, ‘the name of the game is the claim.’” Apple Inc. v. Motorola, Inc., 757 F.3d 1286, 1298 (Fed. Cir.

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Litepanels, Ltd. v. Flolight, LLC, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/litepanels-ltd-v-flolight-llc-txed-2021.