Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. v. Peloton Interactive, Inc.

District Court, E.D. Texas·Decided July 28, 2021·No. 2:20-cv-00382·Unknown

Opinion

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

MAD DOGG ATHLETICS, INC., Plaintiff, v. Case No. 2:20-cv-00382-JRG PELOTON INTERACTIVE, INC., Defendant.

CLAIM CONSTRUCTION MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Before the Court is the opening claim construction brief of Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. (“Plaintiff”) (Dkt. No. 64, filed on June 3, 2021),1 the response of Peloton Interactive, Inc. (“Defendant”) (Dkt. No. 65, filed on June 17, 2021), and Plaintiff’s reply (Dkt. No. 67, filed on June 24, 2021). The Court held a hearing on the issues of claim construction and claim definiteness on July 15, 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 C. Functional Claiming and 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 6 (pre-AIA) / § 112(f) (AIA) ........... 8 D. Definiteness Under 35 U.S.C. § 112, ¶ 2 (pre-AIA) / § 112(b) (AIA) ................. 10 III. CONSTRUCTION OF DISPUTED TERMS ............................................................... 11 A. The Preambles of Claims 1 and 14 of the ’240 Patent and Claim 1 of the ’328 Patent ............................................................................................................ 11 B. “a frame that is configured to allow a rider to ride in sitting and standing positions” .............................................................................................................. 15 C. “smooth transition” and “a direct drive mechanism that couples a pedal assembly and a flywheel and that facilitates a smooth transition between sitting and standing positions” .............................................................................. 17 D. “a mechanism that provides resistance to the flywheel and that is manually adjustable by the rider to vary the pedaling resistance” ....................................... 22 E. “computer … configured to …” ........................................................................... 26 F. “the rider is provided with instructions for …” .................................................... 29 G. “a mechanism that measures the rider’s cadence” ................................................ 33 H. “appropriate cadence” and “the target cadence display revealing the appropriate cadence at which the rider should be pedaling” ................................ 36 IV. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................... 39 I. BACKGROUND Plaintiff alleges infringement of two U.S. Patents: No. 9,694,240 (the “’240 Patent”) and No. 10,137,328 (the “’328 Patent”) (collectively, the “Asserted Patents”). The ’240 and ’328 Patents are related through a series of continuation applications to an application filed on February 2, 2005. The ’328 Patent issued from an application that is a continuation of the ’240 Patent’s application.2

In general, the Asserted Patents are directed to a stationary exercise bike with technology for providing exercise instructions to the rider in order to provide the rider with an exercise experience similar to that of a live instructor-led class. The abstracts of the Asserted Patents are identical and provide: The invention pertains to a stationary exercise bike along with a display that provides instruction to lead a rider through an exercise program. The invention allows a rider to obtain benefits of a group, instructor-led class though the rider’s schedule does not permit the rider to participate in the class. The invention also describes a method of exercising with the foregoing bike and display. Claim 1 of the ’240 Patent and Claim 1 of the ’328 Patent, exemplary asserted claims, recite as follows (with terms in dispute emphasized): ’240 Patent Claim 1. An exercise bike, comprising: a frame that is configured to allow a rider to ride in sitting and standing positions; a direct drive mechanism that couples a pedal assembly and a flywheel and that facilitates a smooth transition between sitting and standing positions; a set of handlebars that is coupled to the frame and that provides the rider with at least one hand position; a mechanism that provides resistance to the flywheel and that is manually adjustable by the rider to vary the pedaling resistance; a computer that is coupled to the stationary bike, that is configured to connect with the internet or other computer network to access a collection of exercise routines, wherein the exercise routines include instructions regarding cadence, pedaling resistance, and riding positions including sitting and standing positions, and that stores power exerted by the rider;

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. v. Peloton Interactive, Inc., (E.D. Tex. 2021).

Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. v. Peloton Interactive, Inc. (Mad Dogg Athletics, Inc. v. Peloton Interactive, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Seymour v. Osborne
78 U.S. 516 (Supreme Court, 1871)
Becton, Dickinson & Co. v. Tyco Healthcare Group, LP
616 F.3d 1249 (Federal Circuit, 2010)
Cordis Corp. v. Boston Scientific Corp.
561 F.3d 1319 (Federal Circuit, 2009)
Datamize, L.L.C. v. Plumtree Software, Inc.
417 F.3d 1342 (Federal Circuit, 2005)
Thorner v. Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC
669 F.3d 1362 (Federal Circuit, 2012)
Vitronics Corporation v. Conceptronic, Inc.
90 F.3d 1576 (Federal Circuit, 1996)
In Re Hiniker Co.
150 F.3d 1362 (Federal Circuit, 1998)
Comark Communications, Inc. v. Harris Corporation
156 F.3d 1182 (Federal Circuit, 1998)
Wms Gaming Inc. v. International Game Technology
184 F.3d 1339 (Federal Circuit, 1999)
Alloc, Inc. v. International Trade Commission
342 F.3d 1361 (Federal Circuit, 2003)