Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of its client - Industrial Dynamics Co. Ltd. - and overturned a jury verdict that Industrial Dynamics infringed a patent owned by Heuft Systemtechnik GmbH. The case involved equipment used in bottling plants to inspect bottles for defects. The Federal Circuit agreed that the District Court had incorrectly construed the claims of Heuft's patent and found that Industrial Dynamics did not infringe the claims under the correct claim constructions.
In the prior proceedings before the District Court, Knobbe Martens was also successful in defending Industrial Dynamics against Heuft's claims for damages and a permanent injunction. Because the Federal Circuit held that Industrial Dynamics did not infringe Heuft's patent, the Court stated that it did not need to decide Heuft's appeal of the denial of any damages or injunctive relief.
The Knobbe Martens lawyers who handled the trial and appeal included Joseph R. Re, Karen Vogel Weil, Steven J. Nataupsky, Sheila N. Swaroop, Matthew S. Bellinger and Marko R. Zoretic.
For a copy of the decision contact Sara McKibben, Director of Business Development at Knobbe Martens at Sara.McKibben@kmob.com.
Knobbe Martens represents clients in all areas of intellectual property law, including transactional and litigation practices. Clients include public and private companies at various stages of growth, from start-up to the Fortune 500 worldwide. In 2007, the firm was also ranked #1 for growth in patent litigation and in the top 10 for number of patent litigation cases in a nationwide survey conducted by IP Law 360.In addition, several members of the firm have been voted among the world’s leading intellectual property lawyers. More information about Knobbe Martens can be found at: www.kmob.com
Contacts:
Heather Shearer or Jan Heying,
619-293-3175
