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LNP Engineering Plastics, Inc. v. Miller Waste Mills, Inc.

Patent claim's reference to "substantially completely wetted" thermoplastic fibers meant fibers largely, but not necessarily wholly, surrounded by resin; definition could be discerned from tests recited in claims and full patent disclosure, and thus claim was not indefinite.

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Appealed from: U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Judge Roderick R. McKelvie

After the jury returned its verdict, both plaintiffs, LNP Engineering Plastics, Inc., and Kawasaki Chemical Holding Co., Inc. (collectively LNP), and defendant, Miller Waste Mills, Inc. (trading as RTP Company), filed various motions including motions for judgment as a matter of law (JMOL). The United States District Court for the District of Delaware granted various of these motions, thereby substantially reversing the jury verdict. LNP Eng’g Plastics, Inc. v. Miller Waste Mills, Inc., No. 96-462-RRM, slip op. (D. Del. Dec. 17, 1999). The district court correctly determined that substantial evidence shows that RTP’s accused products do infringe claim 1 of LNP’s United States Patent No. 5,019,450 (the ’450 patent). The district court also properly granted JMOL that claim 1 of the ’450 patent is not invalid for indefiniteness. This court, therefore, affirms those portions of the district court’s judgment. However, substantial evidence supports the jury’s verdict that claim 1 of United States Patent No. 5,213,889 (the ’889 patent) is invalid for obviousness. This court, therefore, reverses the district court’s grant of JMOL on that judgment and of a new trial on obviousness.

After a second trial, the jury determined that RTP did not willfully infringe the ’450 patent. This court affirms the district court’s denial of LNP’s motion for a new trial on willfulness. In a third trial, the district court found that LNP did not commit inequitable conduct during the reexamination of the ’889 and ’450 patents. Because the district court did not clearly err in finding a lack of intent on the part of the prosecuting attorney in not obtaining a full translation of a Japanese reference, this court affirms.

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