Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. v. CADBURY ADAMS USA LLC

631 F. Supp. 2d 1010, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54471, 2009 WL 1849806
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJune 26, 2009
Docket1:04-cr-00346
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 631 F. Supp. 2d 1010 (Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. v. CADBURY ADAMS USA LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. v. CADBURY ADAMS USA LLC, 631 F. Supp. 2d 1010, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54471, 2009 WL 1849806 (N.D. Ill. 2009).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT M. DOW, Jr., District Judge.

Before the Court are several pending motions for summary judgment. Defendant Cadbury Adams USA LLC (“Cad-bury”) moved for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, seeking to establish the invalidity of Claim 34 of U.S. Patent No. 6,627,233 (the “'233 patent”), owned by Plaintiff, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. (‘Wrigley”), on grounds of anticipation and obviousness. 1 Wrigley moved for partial summary judgment of non-infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,009,893 (the “'893 patent”), owned by Cadbury [209]. Cadbury then filed a cross-motion for literal infringement by Wrigley of the '893 Patent and for validity of the '893 patent [230]. The case is about cooling agents in chewing gum and mint products — specifically, Cadbury’s use of “WS-3” in its products and Wrigley’s use of “WS-23” in its products. Each party claims that the other infringed its intellectual property rights.

For the following reasons, Cadbury’s motion for summary judgment of invalidity is granted, Wrigley’s motion for partial summary judgment of non-infringement [209] is granted, and Cadbury’s cross-motion for literal infringement [230] is granted in part and denied in part.

I. Facts 2

The Court takes the relevant facts primarily from the parties’ respective Local Rule (“L.R.”) 56.1 statements. 3 The *1017 Court takes no position on whose version of disputed factual matters is correct. Local Rule (“L.R.”) 56.1 requires that statements of facts contain allegations of material fact, and that the factual allegations be supported by admissible record evidence. See L.R. 56.1; Malec v. Sanford, 191 F.R.D. 581, 583-85 (N.D.Ill.2000). The Seventh Circuit teaches that a district court has broad discretion to require strict compliance with L.R. 56.1. See, e.g., Koszola v. Bd. of Educ. of the City of Chicago, 385 F.3d 1104, 1109 (7th Cir.2004); Curran v. Kwon, 153 F.3d 481, 486 (7th Cir.1998) (citing Midwest Imps., Ltd. v. Coval, 71 F.3d 1311, 1317 (7th Cir.1995) (collecting cases)).

Where a party has offered a legal conclusion or a statement of fact without offering proper evidentiary support, the Court will not consider that statement. See, e.g., Malec, 191 F.R.D. at 583. Additionally, where a party improperly denies a statement of fact by failing to provide adequate or proper record support for the denial, the Court deems admitted that statement of fact. See L.R. 56.1(a), (b)(3)(B); see also Malec, 191 F.R.D. at 584. The requirements for a response under Local Rule 56.1 are “not satisfied by evasive denials that do not fairly meet the substance of the material facts asserted.” Bordelon v. Chicago Sch. Reform Bd. of Trs., 233 F.3d 524, 528 (7th Cir.2000). In addition, the Court disregards any additional statements of fact contained in a party’s briefs but not in its fact statements. See, e.g., Malec, 191 F.R.D. at 584 (citing Midwest Imps., 71 F.3d at 1317).

A. The'233 Patent

U.S. Patent No. 6,627,233 (the “'233 patent”) is assigned to Wrigley. Cadbury SOF ¶ 6. Wrigley filed its patent application on March 16, 2000, and the patent issued on September 30, 2003. Id. The '233 patent relates to chewing gums that contain physiological cooling agents and methods for producing those chewing gums. Cadbury Mem. Ex. A, '233 Patent, at 1:12-15. The relevant claim at issue in this case from the '233 patent is Claim 34. Cadbury SOF ¶ 4. Claim 34 reads as follows:

A chewing gum composition comprising:
a) about 5% to about 95% gum base;
b) about 5% to about 95% bulking and sweetening agent; and
c) about 0.1 to about 10% flavoring agent wherein the flavoring agent comprises N-2,3-trimethyl-2-isopropyl butanamide and menthol.

Cadbury Mem., Ex. A, '233 Patent, at 56:41-47.

During the claim construction phase of the case, Judge Zagel defined several key terms of the '233 patent in a Memorandum Opinion and Order before this case was transferred to this Court. 4 5/18/07 Mem. Op. [192], 500 F.Supp.2d 922. The percentages of the ingredients refer to the “percent by weight of the chewing gum composition.” Id. at 928. The term “N- *1018 2,3-trimethyl-2-isopropyl butanamide” refers to “a carboxamide formula commonly known as WS-23.” Id. Judge Zagel defined the term “menthol” to be “menthol, as a distinct and separate substance, as distinguished from being present in mint oils.” Id. at 936.

B. Prior Aort Use of Carboxamides and Menthol in Chewing Gum Products

The following facts detail the prior art relating to Cadbury’s argument that Wrigley’s '233 patent is invalid. Prior to the '233 patent, chewing gums had been known to contain between 5 and 95 percent gum base, between 5 and 95 percent bulking and sweetening agents, and between 0.1 and 10 percent flavoring agents. Wrigley’s Resp. ¶ 12. The combination of WS-23 and menthol is the novel feature of Claim 34. Id.

Menthol, which is a component of peppermint oil, is a well-established flavoring agent in chewing gum and confectionaries. Cadbury SOF ¶ 22. Menthol provides a cooling sensation when it interacts with nerve receptors in the mouth. Id. However, while menthol imparts a desirable cooling sensation, at higher concentrations it also can impart a bitter flavor. Id. Thus, gum makers have run into difficulties when trying to create cooler chewing gums by using high concentrations of menthol. Id.

To address this problem, researchers at Wilkinson-Sword Co. researched other compounds that could be used as cooling agents in place of menthol. Cadbury Mem., Ex. W, Dr. M.A. Parrish, Market Warms to Physiological Cooling Agents, Mfg. Chemist (Feb.1987) (the “Parrish article”), at 1. Researchers discovered 1200 compounds that produce a cooling effect without the bitterness of menthol. Id. From these 1200 compounds, two were selected for commercialization based upon several parameters, including “low toxicity, cooling activity together with general efficacy and acceptability, low odour and taste, low volatility, stability in use, and cost.” Id. These two compounds were N-ethyl-p-menthane-3-carboxamide (WS-3) and N-2,3-trimethyl-2-isopropyl butanamide (WS-23). Id. The Parrish article, which was published in 1987, described the two compounds. Id.; Cadbury SOF ¶ 24.

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631 F. Supp. 2d 1010, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54471, 2009 WL 1849806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wm-wrigley-jr-co-v-cadbury-adams-usa-llc-ilnd-2009.