Sometimes A Cigar Is Just A Cigar

Posted on | March 4, 2010 | 1 Comment

2010-1151 Taylor Brands v.  GB II Corp
ED/TN 08-cv-325
Mag. Judge Dennis Inman

Patentee Taylor appeals from the order of Judge Dennis Inman granting GB II summary judgment of non-infringement.  The case involves U.S. Patent No. 6,651,344 which is generally directed to a spring assisted opening knife.  At issue was the claim term “a set block situated at one side of the said blade” and whether the accused knife’s lack of a side set block could infringe.

In claim construction, just like dream analysis, sometimes claim term simply require just what it says.  This appears to be case here based on the Court opinion.

The claims are directed to a spring-assisted opening knife in which the knife blade is set on a pivot and a spring (located in the knife handle) applying tension at the knife base.  When released, the spring pushes on the knife base causing the knife to pivot into the open position.  At issue is the “set block limitation” from claim 1, the only independent claim:

a set block situated at one side of the said blade adjacent to the pivotable conjoinment position of the said handle, with the said set block having a detent notch in the circumferential edge at the confluence of its maximum outer diameter and minimum outer diameter such that when the said blade is drawn out of and extended from the said receiving slot, the said detent notch faces the opposing end of the said receiving slot

The set block is item 7 in the drawing.

GB II’s knife, however, did not have a set block at one side of the blade, but instead used the knife blade base itself.  The court found that the phrase “at one side” actually meant “at one side” and found no literal infringement. As for equivalents, the Court invoked the “all limitations rule”–that equivalents cannot be applied so broadly as to effectively eliminate the limitation altogether–and found that using the knife base and omitting the side set block could not be the equivalent of having a side set block.

2010-1151 SJ Order

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