Pickholtz v. Rainbow Technologies, Inc.

Judge Charles R. Breyer

Andrew Pickholtz appeals from the decisions of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denying his motion for summary judgment of infringement and granting the defendants’ (“Rainbow’s”) motion for summary judgment of noninfringement of Pickholtz’s U.S. Patent 4,593,353. Pickholtz also appeals from the denial of his motion for attorney fees resulting from Rainbow’s discovery misconduct. Because the court erred in construing the claims of the ’353 patent, we reverse the court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Rainbow. Because there exist genuine issues of material facts under the proper claim construction, we affirm the court’s denial of Pickholtz’s motion for summary judgment. Because the court abused its discretion in refusing to award attorney fees to Pickholtz, we vacate that decision. We remand for further consideration of the infringement issue under the proper claim construction and the attorney fee issue under the court’s inherent power.