Mirror Worlds Techs., LLC v. Facebook, Inc.

320 F. Supp. 3d 538
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 11, 2018
Docket17-cv-3473 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 320 F. Supp. 3d 538 (Mirror Worlds Techs., LLC v. Facebook, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mirror Worlds Techs., LLC v. Facebook, Inc., 320 F. Supp. 3d 538 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

John G. Koeltl, United States District Judge

Mirror Worlds Technologies, LLC, has filed this lawsuit against Facebook, Inc., alleging that three systems within Facebook's well-known social media website -- "News Feed," "Timeline," and "Activity Log" -- violate three patents owned by *541Mirror Worlds.1 Mirror Worlds's patents protect a system for organizing electronic data in a time-ordered stream of information. The technology protected by Mirror Worlds's patents has two necessary components relevant to this dispute: (1) a "main stream" or "main collection" and (2) "substreams" or "subcollections." Facebook moves for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, arguing that the undisputed facts demonstrate that neither the News Feed, the Timeline, nor the Activity Log have a "main stream" or a "substream" and therefore that Facebook's systems do not infringe the patents-in-suit. While the parties dispute the proper construction of certain terms in the claims in the patents-in-suit, including "main stream" and "substream," those disputes do not affect the dispositive issues on this motion.

As explained in more detail below, after considering the parties' tutorials, claim construction briefs, and summary judgment briefs, and after hearing oral argument, it is plain that Mirror Worlds cannot establish that any of the Facebook systems at issue contains a "main stream" within the meaning of the patents-in-suit. Facebook's motion for summary judgment is therefore granted.

I.

A.

Summary judgment may not be granted unless "the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c) ; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) ; Univ. of Colo. Found., Inc. v. Am. Cyanamid Co., 196 F.3d 1366 (Fed. Cir. 1999). The trial court's duty at the summary judgment motion stage of the litigation is merely to discern "whether there are disputed material facts;" it does not extend to resolving any such disputes. SunTiger, Inc. v. Scientific Research Funding Grp., 189 F.3d 1327, 1333 (Fed. Cir. 1999) ; see also Lemelson v. TRW, Inc., 760 F.2d 1254, 1260 (Fed. Cir. 1985) ("For summary judgment, fact-finding is an inappropriate exercise ...."). The moving party bears the initial burden of "informing the district court of the basis for its motion" and identifying the matter that "it believes demonstrate[s] the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Where the nonmoving party bears the burden of proof, summary judgment is appropriate if the moving party can show "that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party's case." Id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The substantive law governing the case will identify those facts which are material and "only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

In determining whether summary judgment is appropriate, a court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences against the moving party. See *542Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) (citing United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962) ). If the moving party meets its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to come forward with "specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e)(2). The nonmoving party must "point to an evidentiary conflict created on the record," and may not rely only on "mere denials or conclusory statements." Armco, Inc. v. Cyclops Corp., 791 F.2d 147, 149 (Fed. Cir. 1986) ; see also Applied Cos. v. United States

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Bluebook (online)
320 F. Supp. 3d 538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mirror-worlds-techs-llc-v-facebook-inc-ilsd-2018.