Nitride Semiconductors Co., Ltd. v. Rayvio Corporation
Filing
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ORDER ON 48 JOINT STATEMENT REGARDING PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST TO COMPEL RESPONSES TO INTERROGATORIES. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen on 12/14/2017. (ofr, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 12/14/2017)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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NITRIDE SEMICONDUCTORS CO., LTD.,
Plaintiff,
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v.
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RAYVIO CORPORATION,
Defendant.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
Case No. 17-cv-02952-EJD (SVK)
ORDER ON JOINT STATEMENT
REGARDING PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST
TO COMPEL RESPONSES TO
INTERROGATORIES
Re: Dkt. No. 48
Before the Court is the parties’ joint statement regarding Plaintiff’s request to compel
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Defendant to provide further responses to Interrogatory Nos. 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, and 11. ECF 48.
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Plaintiff contends that these interrogatories request basic factual information that Defendant
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should be required to provide now. Defendant argues that the interrogatories are premature
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contention interrogatories. Pursuant to Civil Local Rule 7-1(b), the Court deems this issue
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appropriate for determination without oral argument. For the reasons discussed below, Plaintiff’s
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motion to compel is DENIED without prejudice to Plaintiff raising these issues again later in
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discovery.
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I.
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BACKGROUND
On May 23, 2017, Plaintiff filed this action alleging that certain of Defendant’s products
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infringe Plaintiff’s U.S. Patent No. 6,861,270. ECF 1. Fact discovery has been underway for four
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months, but according to Defendant, document production is in its early stages, and no depositions
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have been taken. ECF 48 at 1, 3. Fact discovery will close on June 28, 2018. ECF 37. Claim
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construction proceedings are also underway. The parties have exchanged proposed terms for
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construction and proposed constructions, and a claim construction hearing is scheduled for
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April 19, 2018. Id.
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The interrogatories that are the subject of the current dispute ask Defendant to provide the
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following information:
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For each epitaxial process or structure identified in response to Interrogatory No. 1,
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“identify[] the light-emitting region” and describe “any variation in elemental
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composition or spatial fluctuation in the band gap in the light emitting region or
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layer(s) in direct contact with the light emitting region.” (Interrogatory Nos. 2 and
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3.)
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Defendant’s non-infringement defense. (Interrogatory No. 7.)
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Identify whether and how “any difference(s) between or among the Accused
Products supports any defense.” (Interrogatory No. 8.)
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
“Fully describe all factual and legal bases for any contention” underlying
Describe the factual basis for any “conten[tion] that the techniques discussed in
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U.S. Patent Publication No. 2014/0103289 … which are cited in the Complaint in
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this case are not representative of the techniques by which the Accused Products
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are manufactured.” (Interrogatory No. 10.)
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structured identified in response to Interrogatory No. 1.” (Interrogatory No. 11.)
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Defendant responded in part to these interrogatories but also objected to them as premature
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“Describe in detail all differences between and among the epitaxial processes or
insofar as they sought Defendant’s contentions, claim constructions, and/or expert opinions.
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In the parties’ exchange of claim terms for construction, Defendant has taken the position
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that several of the terms used in these interrogatories or similar terms—including “light emitting
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layer,” “a spatial fluctuation in the band gap,” “variation in the compositional ratio,” and “a
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special fluctuation … in the band gap”—require construction.
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II.
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ANALYSIS
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 33 permits interrogatories to parties regarding their factual
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contentions, but also provides that the Court may postpone answers to such interrogatories “until
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designated discovery is complete, or until a pretrial conference or some other time.” Fed. R. Civ.
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Proc. 33(a)(2). An interrogatory “is not objectionable merely because it asks for contentions that
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relate to fact or the application of law to fact.” In re eBay Seller Antitrust Litig., No. C 07-1882 JF
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(RS), 2008 WL 5212170, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Dec. 11, 2008). However, “courts tend to deny
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contention interrogatories filed before substantial discovery has taken place.” Id.
Courts in this district require a party moving to compel responses to contention
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interrogatories at an early stage in litigation to show that the responses would “contribute
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meaningfully” to one of the following: (1) clarifying the issues in the case; (2) narrowing the
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scope of the dispute; (3) setting up early settlement discussion; or (4) exposing a substantial basis
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for a motion under Rule 11 or Rule 56. See In re Convergent Techs. Sec. Litig., 108 F.R.D. 328,
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337 (N.D. Cal. 1985).
Plaintiff does not acknowledge or address these factors. Plaintiff argues that Defendant
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could provide more information about the accused products at issue, but does not explain why
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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requiring a response to the disputed interrogatories now (as opposed to later in discovery) would
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contribute meaningfully to any of the interests identified in In re Convergent Technologies. The
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mere prospect that information the Defendant may provide now would make discovery easier is
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not a sufficient basis for requiring the Defendant to respond to contention interrogatories before
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substantial discovery has taken place. See Barnes & Noble, Inc. v. LSI Corp., No. C 11-02709
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EMC (LB), 2013 WL 655023, at *2 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 2013) (denying motion to compel responses
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to contention interrogatories at early stage of litigation). Moreover, the fact that several of the
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interrogatories use terms that will be addressed by the District Judge during claim construction is
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another reason that requiring Defendant to provide additional responses at this time would be of
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questionable value. See Amgen Inc. v. Sandoz Inc., No. 14-CV-04741-RS(MEJ), 2016 WL
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913105, at *3 (N.D. Cal. March 10, 2016) (denying motion to compel responses to interrogatories
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containing terms that were the subject of claim construction proceedings that were served before
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claim construction and before substantial discovery had been conducted).
Accordingly, the Court will not require Defendant to provide further responses at this stage
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of the case.
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III.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons discussed above, Plaintiff’s motion to compel Defendant to provide more
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complete responses to Interrogatory Nos. 2, 3, 7, 8, 10, and 11 is DENIED without prejudice to
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Plaintiff raising these issues again later in the case.
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SO ORDERED.
Dated: December 14, 2017
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SUSAN VAN KEULEN
United States Magistrate Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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