Masimo Corporation v. Philips Electronics North America Corporation et al
Filing
787
MEMORANDUM ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Court overrules Philips' objection and denies Philips' motion for summary judgment of invalidity of the '984 patent. Signed by Judge Leonard P. Stark on 4/14/14. (ntl)
!
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
MASIMO CORPORATION,
Plaintiff,
Civil Action No. 09-80-LPS-MPT
V.
PHILIPS ELECTRONIC NORTH
AMERICA CORPORATION and
PHILIPS MEDIZIN SYSTEME
BOBLINGEN GMBH,
Defendants.
MASIMO CORPORATION,
Plaintiff,
Civil Action No. 11-742-LPS-MPT
v.
PHILIPS ELECTRONIC NORTH
AMERICA CORPORATION and
PHILIPS MEDIZIN SYSTEME
BOBLINGEN GMBH,
Defendants.
MEMORANDUM ORDER
At Wilmington this 14th day of April, 2014:
1.
As noted in the parties' recent letters (C.A. No. 09-80 D.I. 779, 780) 1, Defendants'
objection to Chief Magistrate Judge Thynge's Report recommending denial of Defendants'
motion for summary judgment of invalidity ofMasimo's U.S. Patent No. 7,215,984 (the '"984
patent") remains pending. The Court inadvertently neglected to address this objection in its
1
All citations to the docket index ("D.I.") are to C.A. No. 09-80, unless otherwise noted.
1
March 31, 2014 Memorandum Opinion (D.I. 776) and Order (D.I. 777). For the reasons stated
below, the Court OVERRULES Defendants' objection (D.I. 672), DENIES Defendants' motion
for summary judgment of invalidity of the '984 patent (D.I. 394), and ADOPTS Judge Thynge's
Report (D.I. 662) with respect to this motion.
2.
On April 2, 2013, Judge Thynge issued a 200-page Report making
recommendations as to the disposition of seven summary judgment motions filed by Plaintiff
Masimo Corporation ("Masimo" or "Plaintiff') and an additional eight summary judgment
motions filed by Defendants Philips Electronic North American Corporation and Philips Medizin
Systeme Boblingen GMBH (collectively "Philips" or "Defendants"). (D.I. 662) ("SJ Report")
On April 19, 2013, the parties filed their respective objections to the SJ Report (D.I. 672, 674)
and responded to those objections on May 6, 2013 (D.I. 696, 697). The Court heard oral
argument on the objections on December 2, 2013. (D.I. 774) ("Tr.")
3.
The SJ Report recommended denying Philips' motion for summary judgment of
invalidity of all asserted claims of Masimo' s '984 patent on the basis of anticipation by the
Ukawa and Hall references. As an ini~ial matter, Philips contends that the factual issues Judge
Thynge found sufficient to defeat summary judgment were "based entirely on a declaration from
Masimo's expert that was provided during summary judgment and directly contradicts her prior
expert reports and deposition testimony." (D.I. 672 at 13) Philips' objection to Judge Thynge's
consideration of a "new" and purportedly contradictory declaration is reviewed for abuse of
discretion, as it constitutes a non-dispositive pre-trial matter. See ยง 636(b )(1 )(A) ("A judge of
the court may reconsider any pretrial matter under this subparagraph (A) where it has been shown
that the magistrate judge's order is clearly erroneous or contrary to law."); see also D.I. 776 at
2
I
17. While Dr. Baura's declaration was presented during the summary judgment phase rather than
earlier, Philips fails to identify anything contradictory about it. The Court finds no abuse of
discretion.
4.
Philips also contends that, even if Dr. Baura's declaration is considered, the
Report erred in denying summary judgment based on anticipation because Masimo's distinctions
over the Ukawa and Hall prior art references are meritless. The Court reviews the Magistrate
Judge's recommended disposition of this case-dispositive motion de novo. (See D.I. 776 at 13)
5.
The SJ Report identified genuine issues of material fact as to whether the Ukawa
reference discloses (i) "a second calculator capable of utilizing a second calculation technique
different from the first calculation technique, to determine at least, a second ratio," (ii) a
"processing module" distinct from the "second calculator," as required by Claims 1-5, 15, 16, 19,
20, 22, 53, and 54, and (iii) "utilizing at least one of at least first and second calculation
techniques to determine a resulting value indicative of the physiological parameter, wherein the
utilizing comprises qualifying the value for inclusion," as required by claim 52, 53, and 54. (D.I.
662 at 58-60) The Court agrees these genuine disputes of material fact preclude summary
judgment of invalidity.
6.
Furthermore, the Court sustained Masimo's objection to the Report's
recommendation that Masimo not be permitted to challenge Ukawa' s status as prior art to
Masimo's '984 patent. (D.1. 776 at 19) There is, then, a material issue as to whether the Ukawa
reference constitutes prior art.
7.
As for the Hall reference, the SJ Report concluded that there is a genuine issue of
material fact as to whether Hall discloses "first and second calculators capable of utilizing first
3
l
i
'
and second calculation techniques" as required by claims 1-5, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22, 53, and 54.
(D.I. 662 at 63) Dr. Baura opined that Hall lacked disclosure of separate first and second
calculators. (D.I. 518 ii 12-13) Philips contends that the "bandpass filter" is the "first calculator"
that performs the "first calculation technique," while that same bandpass filter with the added use
of a feedback loop is a "second calculator" that performs a "second calculation technique." (See,
e.g., D.I. 429, Ex. 14A, App.Cat 11; see also D.I. 432, Ex. 36 at 3:21-24; D.I. 395, App.Bat 2;
D.I. 429, App.Cat 11-12 ("[w]hen [motion] artifact is present, the AGC system is frozen, fixing
the gain level, and the bandpass filter is configured in a feedback loop as illustrated in FIG. 5."))
As the SJ Report correctly points out, Philips' expert, Dr. Stone, relies on language from the Hall
specification that refers to the same bandpass filter. (D.I. 662 at 63) Therefore, there remains a
genuine issue of material fact as to whether the same bandpass filter that acts as a first calculator
when no motion artifact is present can also then act as a second calculator when motion artifact is
present and it is reconfigured in a feedback loop. 2
8.
With respect to Claim 52, the SJ Report also found a genuine issue as to whether
Hall discloses the "utilizing" limitation relating to "qualifying the value for inclusion." (D.I. 662
at 65) ("Philips fails to explain how Hall qualifies any value for inclusion and states, to the
contrary, Hall discloses the output of the bandpass filter is always used to calculate oxygen
2
Philips, relying on Linear Tech. Corp. v. ITC, 566 F.3d 1049, 1055 (Fed. Cir. 2009),
insists that the fact that both calculation techniques utilize some of the same circuitry is
irrelevant. But Philips fails to explain how Linear Tech. relates to the scope of the claims here i.e., by arguing the specification of the '984 also lacks a "specific structural requirement"
separating the circuits or "expressly discloses that the ... circuit[ s] can share common
components." Id (internal punctuation omitted). Therefore, the cited case does nothing to
resolve the material factual dispute as to whether the same bandpass filter from the "first
calculator," reconfigured to use a feedback loop, properly constitutes a "second calculator."
4
saturation.") Philips contends Hall discloses "using one calculation when motion is present and
using a different calculation when motion is not present." (D .I. 672 at 19) However, there
remain factual disputes at least concerning whether this differentiation occurs as part of the first
or second calculation technique, or before the technique is executed. 3
Therefore, the Court OVERRULES Philips' objection and DENIES Philips' motion for
summary judgment of invalidity of the '984 patent.
TATES DISTRICT JUDGE
3
0n April 11, 2014, Masimo informed the Court that, the previous day, the United States
Patent and Trademark Office ("PTO") confirmed the patentability of all asserted claims at issue
here in light of both the Hall and Ukawa references, as part of an ex parte reexamination. (D.I.
783 Ex. A at 15-17) Plainly, nothing about that recent action strengthens Philips' case for
summary judgment of invalidity.
5
j
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?