Lochner Technologies, LLC v. Vizio, Inc.

567 F. App'x 931
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedJune 27, 2014
Docket2013-1551
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 567 F. App'x 931 (Lochner Technologies, LLC v. Vizio, 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
Lochner Technologies, LLC v. Vizio, Inc., 567 F. App'x 931 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

Opinion

O’MALLEY, Circuit Judge.

Lochner Technologies, LLC filed suit against Vizio, Inc. and Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. (collectively, “Defendants”) for infringement of claims 1-10 and 12 of U.S. Patent No. 7,035,598 (“the '598 Patent”), which is entitled “Modular Computer System.” Defendants filed counterclaims seeking a declaration that the '598 Patent is invalid and not infringed. Defendants subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment of invalidity under 35 U.S.C. § 112.

Lochner appeals from the district court’s final judgment that the asserted claims are invalid for: (1) lack of written description under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 1; and (2) failure to claim what the applicants regard as their invention under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2. We conclude that the district court erred in its claim construction analysis. Because its written description and “regards as invention” analyses were predicated on this flawed analysis, we vacate the district court’s judgment of invalidity and remand for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

A. The '598 Patent

Lochner Technologies, LLC (“Lochner”) is owned and operated by Scott J. Lochner who is the principal inventor and the exclusive owner by assignment of the '598 Patent. The '598 Patent claims priority through a series of divisional and continuation applications to U.S. Patent Application *933 No. 07/642,831, which was filed on January 18, 1991. After a lengthy prosecution history, the '598 Patent issued on April 25, 2006.

The patent explains that, at the time the application was filed, there was no system which would allow a computer user “to move easily and quickly from one location to another while enjoying all of the operating capabilities of a full-sized microcomputer.” '598 Patent col. 1 ll. 41-44. Accordingly, Lochner and his co-inventor sought to create a portable way to access a personal computer and “to allow the user to change locations, at least over a limited area, while exerting full control over the computer.” Id. at col. 1 ll. 49-54.

Generally speaking, the '598 Patent is directed to a wireless two-part computer system, including: (1) a stationary base storage and control unit; and (2) a portable input-output unit. These structurally separate units are depicted in Figure 1:

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While the storage and control unit is similar to a “conventional basic computer system” which includes a “CPU with microprocessor,” the input-output unit is limited to achieve portability. Id. at col. 2 ll. 22-25. The written description explains that “one unit of the computer need only include an input device, typically a keyboard, and an output device, typically a display” while “the central processing unit and any desired peripherals ... form parts of another unit which can be allowed to remain stationary.” Id. at col. 2 ll. 5-12. It further states that “the input-output unit differs from knovm devices in that in its preferred form of construction, it consists only of a keyboard and a display device, along with an associated transceiver unit.” Id. at col. 2 ll. 29-32 (emphases added).

Independent Claim 1, which the parties agree is representative, recites a base system including four components: (1) a processor; (2) a non-volatile memory; (3) a display element; and (4) a wireless transceiver. Relevant to this appeal, Claim 1 *934 also recites a “portable input-output system including ”: (1) a wireless transceiver; (2) a user interface; and (8) a display arrangement. Id. at col. 6 11. 20-38 (emphasis added).

The written description repeatedly emphasizes that the portability of the input-output unit is achieved by limiting the unit essentially to the three components listed in Claim 1:

• “Since one unit of the computer need only include an input device ... an output device ... [and] a transceiver unit ... this unit can be relatively light in weight and hence portable.” '598 Patent col. 2 11. 5-8 (emphasis added).
• “[The input-output system] is composed essentially of three components, a keyboard, a ... display device and a wireless transceiver device.” Id. at col. 311. 7-9 (emphasis added).
• “Because of the limited number of components forming [the input-output unit], this can be conveniently constructed to have the general form of a briefcase, including a carrying handle.” Id. at col. 3 11. 20-22 (emphasis added).

Consistent with this language in the written description, Lochner made several limiting statements during the course of the patent’s lengthy prosecution history. For example, to overcome certain prior art, Lochner expressly excluded features of a full-service computer, such as nonvolatile data storage and the ability to execute application programs:

(1) Sandstedt totally fails to teach or suggest the basic concept claimed by Applicant: a two-part computer system comprising: (1) a base storage and control unit that includes all necessary components for computing; and (2) a simple, lightweight, and inexpensive remote input/output unit essentially dedicated to only I/O functions fie., not for nonvolatile data storage or execution of application programs). As shown and described in Fig. 4 and col. 4, line 16 over to col. 5, line 48 of Sandstedt, he teaches a portable terminal 12 that is essentially a self-contained computer having a microprocessor, RAM, and ROM.

Decl. of Charles C. Koole in Support of Defs.’ Opening Claim Construction Br. at Exhibit M, Lochner Techs., LLC v. Apple Inc., No. 8:12-cv-1659 (C.D.Cal. Jan. 25, 2013), ECF 310-14 (July 26, 1993 Amendment after Final Rejection filed in Application No. 07/642,831, to which the '598 Patent claims priority) (emphases in original).

Lochner subsequently explained that:

Applicants are not claiming a device that is a stand-alone processing system that can remotely communicate with a host computer. Rather, Applicants are claiming a system that includes a remote input/output unit for interacting with a base storage and control unit in which the remote unit is essentially used only for data input to the base unit and display of video information generated by the base unit and communicated in essentially real time from the base unit to the remote unit. Limiting the functions of Applicant’s invention as claimed means that the invention can be implemented relatively inexpensively, since the remote unit does not need to be a stand-alone computer having communications capabilities, but only a relatively “dumb” terminal that relies upon the computing power of the base station.

Id.

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Bluebook (online)
567 F. App'x 931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lochner-technologies-llc-v-vizio-inc-cafc-2014.