Microwave Associates, Inc. v. United States

3 Cl. Ct. 476, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1614
CourtUnited States Court of Claims
DecidedSeptember 28, 1983
DocketNo. 459-80 C
StatusPublished

This text of 3 Cl. Ct. 476 (Microwave Associates, Inc. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Court of Claims primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Microwave Associates, Inc. v. United States, 3 Cl. Ct. 476, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1614 (cc 1983).

Opinion

ORDER

SETO, Judge.

In this patent case, TRAK Microwave Corporation (TRAK), a non-party, filed a Motion to Quash a Subpoena Duces Tecum. Plaintiff subpoenaed TRAK to appear with specified documents for a second deposition. TRAK objected to a second deposition on grounds that it would be repetitive and overly burdensome because preparation for the deposition would entail an exhaustive search through its technical diagrams and sales documents. TRAK asserts that these documents either were examined during the first deposition or are related to devices clearly outside the scope of plaintiff's patent claims. TRAK argues moreover that much of the information requested by plaintiff is proprietary and its dissemination to plaintiff would hinder TRAK’s competitiveness.

The issues presented by TRAK’s Motion to Quash were complex and ambiguous; a discovery conference was therefore convened in which counsels for TRAK, plaintiff, and defendant participated. The purpose of the conference was to establish guidelines regarding the documents which TRAK would have to produce at its second deposition.

During the conference, the parties agreed to exclude sales information from the scope of TRAK’s deposition. Thus, plaintiff shall depose TRAK regarding only the infringement of the relevant claims by TRAK’s devices. Thereafter, plaintiff may seek additional discovery as to the procurement by the Government of devices manufactured by TRAK which plaintiff believes infringe its patents, or, by motion, this suit may be bifurcated so as to establish liability before the issues of accounting are reached.

The parties also agreed to formulate a draft Protective Order which would shield TRAK’s trade secrets from everyone but this court and counsel for Microwave and the Government. Having reviewed the proposed Protective Order, this court considers [478]*478it satisfactory and hereby incorporates it into this Order. (The Protective Order is attached).

Whether plaintiff’s Subpoena Duces Te-cum requires TRAK to produce documents on clearly non-infringing devices is the sole issue remaining for consideration. The devices of which plaintiff seeks discovery are the microwave transmission devices entitled “stub tuned circulators,” an example of which is illustrated in Figure 1.

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Only the geometries of the stubs (41, 42, 43) and their junction (38) are relevant to this Order. In practice, the shape and size of the stubs affect the transmission of microwaves through the electrically conductive arms (33, 35, 40). Plaintiff’s United States Letters Patent No. 3,673,518 entitled “Stub tuned circulator” (the “ ’518 patent”) is in suit and claims a stub tuned circulator, as illustrated in Figure 1, in which the stubs have been individually tailored so as to achieve desired transmission properties through the conductive arms (33, 35, 40).

During the conference, three configurations for the stubs and their junction were discussed. The first configuration comprised a circular junction (6) from which no stubs extended, as illustrated in Figure 2.

Plaintiff agreed that a circular junction having no protruding stubs was non-infringing and thus irrelevant.

The second configuration involved a stub tuned circulator in which all stubs were symmetrical, as shown in Figure 3.

Plaintiff correctly stated that the mere symmetry of the stubs does not, a fortiori, mean that the tuned circulator is irrelevant to this suit. Therefore, TRAK can be deposed on stub tuned circulators having symmetrical stubs.

The third configuration involved a stub tuned circulator having stubs which extend outside the periphery of the ferrite discs (39 in Figure 1). Plaintiff asserts that [479]*479such a configuration may infringe the asserted patent claims. Two of the three independent claims, viz., claims 3 and 14 of the ’518 patent state, however, that the stubs terminate within a region adjacent to the ferrite discs. Claim 1, the remaining independent claim, does not expressly provide for stubs extending outside the periphery of the ferrite discs. On the contrary, the ’518 patent specification twice limits the stub length to within the region of the ferrite discs. See ’518 patent, col. 3, lines 58-60, and col. 4, lines 71-73. Moreover, during the prosecution of the ’518 patent, an amendment to the claims was made as follows:

In the present invention, on the other hand, the tuning stubs 41, 42, 43, are entirely within the area covered by the ferrite discs as is stated in page 10, lines 4-6 inclusive [which became lines 58-60 of column 3 of the ’518 patent]. This concept has been specifically introduced into the claims by the foregoing amendments. [’518 patent file history, Amendment A, pages 3-4, filed February 15, 1972].

Therefore, stub tuned circulators having stubs extending outside the periphery of the ferrite discs are outside the scope of the ’518 patent claims and are irrelevant to this suit.

Plaintiff may depose TRAK regarding stub tuned circulators which have stubs that terminate within the periphery of the ferrite discs and which do not comprise a circular junction absent stubs. TRAK’s Motion to Quash Subpoena Duces Tecum is thus GRANTED IN PART.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

PROTECTIVE ORDER

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

1. If a party or deponent determines that the deposition of deponent or trial testimony of any person, exhibits, information gained during on-site inspection, or the documents or things of any person (including documents of a non-litigant corporation, partnership, trust or individual) which are not excludable from discovery, constitute or contain trade secret or other confidential research, development or commercial information proprietary to deponent (hereinafter “CONFIDENTIAL information”), it shall advise the other parties or deponent or their counsel of such fact by designation prior to any use or further use of confidential information. Transcripts, exhibits, inspection results, and documents or things designated as containing CONFIDENTIAL information shall not be disclosed or used by the party receiving them except as provided herein below. Where designated confidential or proprietary material is a severable portion of a single identifiable document, e.g., deposition transcripts, test reports, etc., such confidential portion should, where practicable, be filed and/or served separately and independently of the nonconfidential portions of such document for which there is no limitation on dissemination.

2. All transcripts, exhibits, inspection results, and documents or things designated as containing CONFIDENTIAL information which may be filed with this Court shall be placed in sealed envelopes or other appropriate sealed containers bearing the captioned title of this litigation, the word “CONFIDENTIAL” and a statement substantially in the following form:

The contents hereof include confidential information in the form of [nature of items, e.g., documents] filed in this case by [name of party] in accordance with a Protective Order under Rule 26(c) entered in this case on [date]. This envelope [or container] is not to be opened nor are the contents thereof to be displayed or revealed except by order of the Court, and shall be returned to [name of filing party] upon termination of the proceedings in this case.

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3 Cl. Ct. 476, 1983 U.S. Claims LEXIS 1614, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/microwave-associates-inc-v-united-states-cc-1983.