Canons and Canards: Recreating Prior Artwork

by Dennis Crouch

In its petition for en banc rehearing Innovation Sciences raises some nice previous instances.  En banc petition from Innovation Scis., LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., 842 Fed. Appx. 555 (Fed. Cir. 2021)(unpublished).  Specifically, the petition argues that the Federal Circuit’s determination within the case is opposite to each:

1. Washburn & Moen Mfg. Co. v. Beat ‘Em All Barbed-Wire Co., 143 U.S. 275 (1892) (aka, The Barbed Wire Patent Instances); and
2. Juicy Whip, Inc. v. Orange Bang, Inc., 292 F.3d 728 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (Observe, that is Juicy Whip II.  in Juicy Whip I, the court docket rejected a competition that the invention lacked utility due to its said intent of deceiving the general public.  Juicy Whip, Inc. v. Orange Bang, Inc., 185 F.3d  364 (Fed.Cir.1999)).

Each of those instances relate to the kind of proof out there to invalidate issued patents.

In The Barbed Wire Instances, the patent challengers had launched oral testimony from 24 eye-witnesses who every testified that they noticed a previous artwork fence on show a county honest in 1858, and together with no less than one individual of ability within the artwork (a blacksmith).  However, the Supreme Court docket discovered the proof missing. The court docket famous the “unsatisfactory character” of oral testimony “arising from the forgetfulness of witnesses, their legal responsibility to errors, their proneness to remember issues” in a biased manner.

The actual fact, which courts in addition to the general public haven’t failed to acknowledge, that nearly each vital patent, from the cotton gin of Whitney to the one into consideration, has been attacked by the testimony of witnesses who imagined they’d made related discoveries lengthy earlier than the patentee had claimed to have invented his machine, has tended to throw a specific amount of discredit upon all that class of proof, and to demand that or not it’s subjected to the closest scrutiny. Thus, the Court docket confirmed severe distaste for all oral testimony proffered to invalidate a patent–whatever the curiosity of the witnesses.

Id.  The court docket confirmed this ruling in Eibel Course of Co. v. Minnesota & Ontario Paper Co., 261 U.S. 45 (1923), writing that:

[T]right here will not be a single written report, letter, or specification of prior date to Eibel’s software that discloses any such discovery by anyone, or the usage of the pitch of the wire to help the pace of the mechine. The oral proof on this level falls far wanting being sufficient to beat the presumption of novelty from the granting of the patent. The temptation to recollect in such instances and the convenience with which sincere witnesses can persuade themselves after a few years of getting had a conception on the foundation of a useful patent, are well-known on this department of regulation, and have correctly led to a rule that proof to show prior discovery have to be clear and passable.

Id.

The beverage dispenser case, Juicy Whip, follows alongside this identical line, but in addition focuses on the usage of non-prior artwork as proof.  Specifically, the accused infringer had “recreated” what it claimed was a previous artwork beverage dispenser and offered oral testimony.  The appellate court docket rejected the demonstration as “no extra dependable than any of the opposite oral testimony.”  Id.  A patent can’t be invalidated primarily based upon “oral testimony accompanied by an admittedly non-anticipatory visible support.” Id.  Juicy Whip was determined by the everyday pro-patentee Choose Linn and joined by Choose Lourie.  Choose Mayer wrote in dissent that the oral testimony coupled with the mannequin needs to be enough.

The brand new petition relating to those points is Innovation Scis., LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., 842 Fed. Appx. 555 (Fed. Cir. 2021)(unpublished).  The case entails some type of wi-fi communications expertise helpful in house automation.  The closest prior artwork was a house automation software program known as HAL2000 created by Tim Shriver again within the early 2000s.  However, the patents don’t simply cowl software program.  Slightly, they’re directed to numerous software-hardware mixtures and strategies of use of these mixtures.

To be able to present the usage of HAL2000 met all the constraints, Amazon had Shriver implement the previous code on some previous {hardware}.  Then, Amazon’s professional witness examined the brand new creation that we’d name HAL2019 to indicate that the prior artwork met all of the declare limitations.  After listening to these outcomes, the jury sided with the protection and located the claims invalid as anticipated. On attraction, the Federal Circuit affirmed. Though it was a non-precedential opinion, the court docket was considerably cautious to clarify that the recreation was applicable on this case as a result of “substantial proof helps a discovering that the HAL system on which Dr. Johnson primarily based his opinion was consultant of prior-art HAL methods.” Innovation Scis. 842 Fed. Appx. 555.

The petition explains the {hardware} and configuration for prior artwork HAL methods  have been every uniquely put in by clients and that the actual recreated HAL system was designed in 2019 utilizing the asserted claims as a roadmap slightly than really recreating one thing recognized to exist.  And, based on petitioner, this recreated system “was the one prior artwork relied upon at trial.” (with one minor exception). Though no person testified that the 2019 system as created really existed earlier than the essential date, of us did testify that the 2019 system “may have” existed. Based mostly upon these recitations of the proof, the petition then asks two questions:

1. Whether or not it’s correct to deal with a system inbuilt 2019 for functions of the litigation that included sure prior artwork elements (i.e., the 2019 HAL System) as an anticipatory reference within the absence of proof that 2019 system really existed previous to the 2006 essential date; and
2. Whether or not the suggestion {that a} prior artwork system may have existed earlier than the essential date can meet the clear and convincing proof commonplace required to show invalidity.

I see the problems right here as fabulously fascinating and vital. The sensible drawback for the petitioner although stems from the regulation that seems keen to permit recreations of the prior artwork as long as enough documentary proof helps a conclusion that the recreation is consultant of the prior artwork. And, on this case, the challenger offered a wide range of proof to show that time, together with product manuals, articles, and even a video of the system being demonstrated on Oprah. Regardless of citing these nice instances, in the long run, the Plaintiff is absolutely arguing that these bits of proof are inadequate. And, re-arguing the details is sort of all the time a dropping proposition for rehearing.

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Chief Choose Moore authored the Federal Circuit opinion joined by Judges Prost and Hughes.  Donald Jackson and his crew at Davidson Berquist represented the patentee at trial, on attraction, and on this petition for rehearing.  Amazon relied on David Hadden and his crew from Fenwick all through the case.  The Federal Circuit’s appellate process bars any opposing response until requested by the court docket.