SSJR Obtains Federal Circuit Affirmance of Summary Judgment Rulings of Invalidity and Noninfringement in Patent Infringement Suit

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SSJR is pleased to announce that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has upheld a district court’s rulings of noninfringement and invalidity concerning U.S. Patent No. 5,740,801, which relates to a system for storing and displaying images during a medical procedure.

A Federal District Court in West Virginia had previously granted SSJR’s summary judgment motions that the claims of the patent are either not infringed by Karl Storz Endoscopy-America, Inc. (KSEA), or are invalid. In its ruling, the Federal Circuit first examined the claims directed to the pre-storing of certain doctor preferences, including an analysis of the proper construction of the term “graphical objects,” and upheld the district court’s finding that KSEA’s accused products did not infringe those claims. The Court next examined the claims reciting a “still frame buffer,” directed to image freeze-and-capture systems, and upheld the district court’s ruling that these claims were invalid based on prior art that had not been considered by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but which was brought to the Court’s attention by SSJR.