Federal Circuit Finds Animatics' Patent infringed
WASHINGTON, DC— McDermott Will & Emery’s Intellectual Property Department received a favorable decision for client, Animatics Corporation in a patent infringement case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Animatics sued Quicksilver Controls for infringing its patent for a servo-motor with an integrated microprocessor controller.
After a three-week trial in November 2002, and a deadlocked jury, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found as a matter of law that the accused Quicksilver products infringed two claims, Claims 32 and 35, of Animatics’ patent and did not infringe three other claims, Claims 26, 28 and 31.
The Federal Circuit reversed the district court’s finding of no infringement of claims 26, 28 and 31 and directed the district court to enter a judgment of infringement on those claims. The Federal Circuit also vacated the district court’s infringement findings on claims 32 and 35, due to a misconstrued claim term, and remanded for a further determination of infringement.
The Federal Circuit’s opinion is a major victory for Animatics because claims 26, 28 and 31 are broader than the claims previously found to have been infringed.
McDermott’s legal team advising Animatics throughout the case included Terry McMahon and Ken Cage.
