Yukiyo, Ltd. v. Watanabe

111 F.3d 883, 1997 WL 178009
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
DecidedApril 15, 1997
DocketNo. 97-1115
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 111 F.3d 883 (Yukiyo, Ltd. v. Watanabe) 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
Yukiyo, Ltd. v. Watanabe, 111 F.3d 883, 1997 WL 178009 (Fed. Cir. 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

ARCHER, Chief Judge.

Shiro Watanabe, d/b/a Biodent Ceramics, X-L Dental Corp., Elayan Dental Labs, Santa Clara Dental Lab, Weil Dental Ceramics Studio, Sierra Dental Labs, Inc., and Zecchin Laboratories (collectively Watanabe) move to strike the compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) counterpart brief that Yukiyo Ltd. submitted when it filed its opening brief. Yukiyo opposes.

BACKGROUND

In conjunction with the filing of the paper version of its opening brief in this patent infringement case, Yukiyo submitted a single copy of its CD-ROM counterpart brief to the court and served a copy of the disk on Wa-tanabe. Yukiyo later submitted eleven additional copies to the court. Although we are aware that such CD-ROM briefs have been [885]*885lodged in the United States Supreme Court on two occasions, this is the first time a party has submitted such a brief to this- court. We are not aware that any other United States Court of Appeals has received or filed such a brief. Further, no rules have been adopted by this court or any other court concerning the filing of a CD-ROM brief.

The CD-ROM brief filed in this ease contains an electronic copy of Yukiyo’s paper brief that, like the paper brief, includes citations to relevant law and matters contained in the record. Viewed page for page, the CD-ROM brief mirrors the paper filing. In addition to the conventional citations contained in both types of briefs, the CD-ROM brief also includes hyperlinks within the text of the brief that connect to hypertext, i.e., to the text of the items that are referenced. The hypertext consists of published cases, statutes, rules, and items that are normally contained in the joint appendix, such as trial transcripts, district court orders, and jury instructions. A videotape that was in evidence in the district court is also included in the hypertext. Before including the published cases in the CD-ROM brief, Yukiyo states that it obtained a license from West Publishing Company that covers any material the West version of the cases may contain that may be subject to copyright protection. According to Yukiyo, the license it obtained extends to Watanabe and the court.

Every copy of the CD-ROM Yukiyo submitted contains specifications for the computer hardware needed to view the material on the disk, instructions for installing certain World Wide Web browsers, and instructions for viewing the CD-ROM brief. By positioning the pointer with the use of the mouse and clicking on a hypertext citation, the reader is able to access the hypertext. In order to view hypertext, the reader’s computer must be equipped with a Web browser. Additionally, in order to hear the audio portion of the videotape, the reader’s computer must contain an audio card. Such software is now widely available.

One of the principal benefits of Yukiyo’s CD-ROM brief is that it allows the reader to view the text of the brief and the hypertext almost simultaneously, obviating the need for the reader to refer to the paper brief and appendix or to engage in viewing videotapes through the usual means. The reader is able to print certain hypertext documents, in whole or in part,- as he or she views the brief. Hypertext that was reproduced through imaging, however, cannot be readily printed from the CD-ROM. The CD-ROM brief thus comprises a hypertext-linked document that includes an electronic copy of Yukiyo’s paper brief as well as all of the relevant record evidence and legal authority cited in Yukiyo’s brief.

DISCUSSION

Watanabe moves to strike the CD-ROM brief, arguing that he has been prejudiced by Yukiyo’s submission. Watanabe contends that the filing of the CD-ROM brief places him at a disadvantage because his counsel had to contact an attorney in another law firm in order to view the CD-ROM brief. Watanabe’s counsel states that he does not have the necessary computer equipment at his disposal to view the brief. Watanabe also contends that the filing of the CD-ROM brief is improper because it contains complete copies of trial transcripts and a video of an entire deposition, while the paper appendix that will be filed will only include extracts of trial and deposition transcripts. See Fed. Cir.R. 30, 32.

I.

Just last year, the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure were amended to permit electronic filing in appellate courts. See Fed.R.App.P. 25.

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Yukiyo, Ltd v. Watanabe
111 F.3d 883 (Federal Circuit, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
111 F.3d 883, 1997 WL 178009, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/yukiyo-ltd-v-watanabe-cafc-1997.