Northpoint Technology, Ltd. v. MDS America, Inc.

413 F.3d 1301, 75 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1244, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 12747, 2005 WL 1514258
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedJune 28, 2005
Docket2004-1249
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 413 F.3d 1301 (Northpoint Technology, Ltd. v. MDS America, 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
Northpoint Technology, Ltd. v. MDS America, Inc., 413 F.3d 1301, 75 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1244, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 12747, 2005 WL 1514258 (Fed. Cir. 2005).

Opinions

Opinion for the court filed by Circuit Judge BRYSON. Concurring in part and dissenting in part opinion filed by Circuit Judge DYK.

BRYSON, Circuit Judge.

Northpoint Technology, Ltd., is the as-signee of U.S. Patent No. 5,761,605 (“the ’605 patent”), entitled “Apparatus and Method for Reusing Satellite Broadcast Spectrum for Terrestrially Broadcast Signals,” and U.S. Patent No. 6,169,878 (“the ’878 patent”), entitled “Apparatus and Method for Transmitting Terrestrial Signals on a Common Frequency with Sat[1303]*1303ellite Transmissions.” Northpoint asserted the ’605 and ’878 patents against MDS America, Inc. (“MDSA”) and MDS International, S.A.R.L. (“MDSI”) in an action filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Following a trial, a jury determined that MDSA had infringed claim 8 of the ’605 patent and claims 1 and 7 of the ’878 patent. The jury determined, however, that those three claims were invalid. The district court subsequently denied North-point’s motion for judgment as a matter of law (“JMOL”) that the three asserted claims were not invalid, and the court denied Northpoint’s motion for a new trial. The district court entered judgment on the verdict. Northpoint appeals from the denial of its motion for JMOL regarding validity and the denial of a new trial. MDSA cross-appeals from the aspect of the judgment finding that it infringed claim 8 of the ’605 patent and claims 1 and 7 of the ’878 patent. MDSA and MDSI jointly cross-appeal, contending that the district court should have extended the judgment of invalidity to all the remaining claims of the two patents in suit. We affirm the judgment in all respects.

I

In the early 1980s, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) began allowing direct broadcast satellite service (“DBS”) from satellites in geosynchronous orbit, using the frequency range from 12.2 to 12.7 Gigahertz, to provide audio and video programming to users. The FCC recognized that multiple satellites could transmit on the same frequencies if the satellites were spaced apart by at least nine degrees in longitude and if users employed highly directional antennas to receive the DBS signals. There are now multiple geosynchronous satellites transmitting service on the same frequencies to most geographical locations in the United States at any given time. Because of the directionality of the receiving antennas and the longitudinal separation of the satellites, a user can receive a signal from one satellite, and avoid interference from signals transmitted by other satellites, by pointing a directional antenna at the satellite that is transmitting the desired signal.

Most DBS satellites provide coverage to the entire continental United States. The satellites do not provide local television programming to most users, because each satellite can transmit only a limited number of channels, and the satellites therefore typically transmit only those channels that contain programming of national interest. As a result, most DBS users cannot receive local channels that include matters of local interest, such as local news, weather, and advertising.

Northpoint’s invention claims to solve this problem by terrestrially broadcasting local programming on the same frequencies that are used by the DBS system in a manner that permits both signals to be received at the user location at the same time without interfering with each other. The concept underlying the invention is that the DBS satellites are in geosynchronous orbit above the equator and therefore transmit in a northerly direction to the North American continent. Accordingly, a directional antenna employed at a user location in the United States must be pointed south towards the satellite in order to receive the signal. Northpoint’s preferred embodiment of the invention transmits terrestrial signals from north of the user’s location to a second directional antenna at the user’s location that is pointed northward towards the terrestrial transmitter, as depicted below.

[1304]*1304[[Image here]]

According to Northpoint, the terrestrial signal will not interfere with the DBS signal or vice versa because the terrestrial signal will be transmitted in a specific azimuth spaced away from the DBS satellite-to-user azimuth. Northpoint claims that in such a case, the signal received by each antenna at the user location will be outside the “directional reception range” of the other antenna. Claim 8 of the ’605 patent provides as follows:

A method for simultaneously providing local originating signals on a common frequency with direct broadcast satellite signals transmitted from a satellite, where the satellite is a first satellite location in geosynchronous orbit about the earth, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) at a user location, receiving direct broadcast satellite signals at a first frequency with a first antenna adapted to receive signals at the first frequency only within a first directional reception range as measured from a centerline of the first antenna;
(b) transmitting terrestrial signals at the first frequency and in a terrestrial azimuth range from a terrestrial transmitter, the terrestrial azimuth range being outside of the directional reception range of the first antenna positioned to receive direct broadcast satellite signals from the satellite; and
(c)at the user location, remote from the terrestrial transmitter, receiving the terrestrial signals with a second antenna adapted for receiving signals at the first frequency only within a second directional reception range as measured from a centerline of the second antenna, the second antenna being aligned so that the direct broadcast satellite signals transmitted by the satellite are not transmitted within the directional reception range of the second antenna.

Claim 1 of the ’878 patent recites the apparatus for transmitting the satellite and terrestrial signals, as follows:

An apparatus for simultaneously transmitting terrestrial signals on a common frequency with satellite signals transmitted from a satellite, the satellite transmitting satellite signals at a first frequency to a user location for reception only within a satellite directional reception range about the user location, the apparatus comprising:
(a) a directional terrestrial transmitter for transmitting terrestrial signals at the first frequency in a limited azimuth range around the location of the terrestrial transmitter, the terrestrial transmitter being located with respect to the user location such that the terrestrial transmitter transmits to the user location along a route which is outside of the satellite directional reception range.

[1305]*1305Claim 7 of the ’878 is the corresponding method claim to claim 1:

A method for simultaneously providing terrestrial signals on a common frequency with satellite signals transmitted from a satellite, where the satellite is transmitting at a first frequency along a satellite transmission axis extending from the satellite to a terrestrial user location, the method comprising the step of:

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413 F.3d 1301, 75 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1244, 2005 U.S. App. LEXIS 12747, 2005 WL 1514258, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/northpoint-technology-ltd-v-mds-america-inc-cafc-2005.