Round Rock Research, LLC v. Sandisk Corp.

81 F. Supp. 3d 339, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13080, 2015 WL 497548
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedFebruary 4, 2015
DocketCiv. No. 12-569-SLR
StatusPublished

This text of 81 F. Supp. 3d 339 (Round Rock Research, LLC v. Sandisk Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Round Rock Research, LLC v. Sandisk Corp., 81 F. Supp. 3d 339, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13080, 2015 WL 497548 (D. Del. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROBINSON, District Judge

I. INTRODUCTION

On May 3, 2012, plaintiff Round Rock Research, LLC (“Round Rock”) instituted [344]*344suit against defendant SanDisk Corporation (“SanDisk”), alleging infringement of eleven patents, of which five are the subject of the current litigation:1 U.S. Patent Nos. 5,615,159 (“the '159 patent”),2 6,728,-798 (“the '798 patent”), 6,948,041 (“the '041 patent”), 7,336,531 (“the '531 patent”), and 8,060,719 (“the '719 patent”).3 (D.I.l) Round Rock filed an amended complaint on May 14, 2012. (D.I.5) On July 9, 2012, SanDisk answered and asserted various affirmative defenses, including nonin-fringement and patent invalidity. (D.I.8) SanDisk also asserted counterclaims for non-infringement and invalidity. Id. The parties submitted their competing claim construction briefs and, on July 21, 2014, the court issued a memorandum order with its claim construction. (D.I.172) On December 17, 2014, the court issued a memorandum opinion and order regarding summary judgment of the '150, '798 and '041 patents. (D.I. 324; D.I. 325)

Round Rock is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Mount Kisco, New York. San-Disk is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of Delaware, with its principal place of business in Milpitas, California.

Presently before the court are: (1) San-Disk’s motion for summary judgment of invalidity of the '531 and '719 patents (D.I. 285); (2) SanDisk’s motion for summary judgment of non-infringement of the '531 patent and partial summary judgment of noninfringement of the '719 patent (D.I. 283); and Round Rock’s motion for partial summary judgment of no anticipation (D.I. 280). The court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1338(a).

II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

A. Summary Judgment

“The court shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. Matsushita Elec. Indus. [345]*345Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586 n. 10, 106 S.Ct. 1848, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). A party asserting that a fact cannot be — or, alternatively, is — genuinely disputed must support the assertion either by citing to “particular parts of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information, affidavits or declarations, stipulations (including those made for the purposes of the motions only), admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials,” or by “showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(A) & (B). If the moving party has carried its burden, the nonmovant must then “come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 587, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (internal quotation marks omitted). The court will “draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, and it may not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence.” Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 150, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000).

To defeat a motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party must “do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348; see also Podobnik v. U.S. Postal Service, 409 F.3d 584, 594 (3d Cir.2005) (stating party opposing summary judgment “must present more than just bare assertions, conclusory allegations or suspicions to show the existence of a genuine issue”) (internal quotation marks omitted). Although the “mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment,” a factual dispute is genuine where “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmov-ing party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). “If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may 'be granted.” Id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (internal citations omitted); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (stating entry of summary judgment is mandated “against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial”).

B. Infringement

A patent is infringed when a person “without authority makes, uses or sells any patented invention, within the United States ... during the term of the patent.” 35 U.S.C. § 271(a). A two-step analysis is employed in making an infringement determination. See Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 976 (Fed.Cir.1995). First, the court must construe the asserted claims to ascertain their meaning and scope. See id. Construction of the claims is a question of law subject to de novo review. See Cybor Corp. v. FAS Techs., 138 F.3d 1448, 1454 (Fed.Cir.1998). The trier of fact must then compare the properly construed claims with the accused infringing product. See Markman, 52 F.3d at 976. This second step is a question of fact. See Bai v. L & L Wings, Inc., 160 F.3d 1350, 1353 (Fed.Cir.1998).

“Direct infringement requires a party to perform each and every step or element of a claimed method or product.” BMC Res., Inc. v. Paymentech, L.P., 498 F.3d 1373, 1378 (Fed.Cir.2007), overruled on other grounds by 692 F.3d 1301 (Fed.Cir.2012). “If any claim limitation is ab[346]*346sent from the accused device, there is no literal infringement as a matter of law.” Bayer AG v. Elan Pharm. Research Corp., 212 F.3d 1241, 1247 (Fed.Cir.2000). If an accused product does not infringe an independent claim, it also does not infringe any claim depending thereon. See Wahpeton Canvas Co. v. Frontier, Inc., 870 F.2d 1546, 1553 (Fed.Cir.1989). However, “[o]ne may infringe an independent claim and not infringe a claim dependent on that claim.” Monsanto Co. v. Syngenta Seeds, Inc.,

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81 F. Supp. 3d 339, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13080, 2015 WL 497548, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/round-rock-research-llc-v-sandisk-corp-ded-2015.