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Exxon Research and Engineering Co. v. United States

Summary judgment in favor of government, holding that plaintiff's patents were invalid for indefiniteness, reversed because claim language was sufficiently clear for a person of skill in the art to understand.

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Appealed from: United States Court of Federal Claims Judge Edward J. Damich

Exxon Research and Engineering Co. is the assignee of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,292,705 (“the ’705 patent”) and 5,348,982 (“the ’982 patent”), which are directed to improvements in a method for converting natural gas into liquid hydrocarbon products. Exxon brought suit against the United States in the Court of Federal Claims, asserting that the government infringed the ’705 and ’982 patents by authorizing Department of Energy subcontractors to use conversion methods covered by the patents. The government filed a motion for summary judgment seeking to have both patents held invalid for indefiniteness. In a detailed and careful opinion, the Court of Federal Claims granted the government’s motion, and Exxon appealed. We conclude that, although this case presents several close questions, the claims at issue are not invalid for indefiniteness. Accordingly, we reverse the court’s judgment of invalidity with respect to the two Exxon patents and remand the case for further proceedings.

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