""[F]or the expert's testimony on a POSA's perspective to be relevant, the expert must also establish familiarity with that perspective." Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a precedential decision in Smartrend Manufacturing Group (SMG), Inc. v. Opti-Luxx Inc. reversing and vacating an infringement ruling from the Western District of Michigan following a jury verdict for patent owner SMG in a case over illuminated school bus signs. In assessing Opti-Luxx's challenge to Smartrend's expert testimony offered on the perspective of ordinary observers, the Federal Circuit strongly hinted that such testimony could support design patent infringement allegations by drawing upon relevancy principles from the utility patent context."
"SMG filed a lawsuit in Western Michigan accusing Opti-Luxx's single-piece bus sign with a rigid plastic housing inseparable from an LED light board and yellow lens with black lettering of infringing U.S. Patent No. 11348491, Illuminated Signs for Vehicles, Mounting Systems Therefor and Related Methods, and U.S. Design Patent No. D932930, LED Light Panel. The district court granted summary judgment to Opti-Luxx on literal infringement as the '491 patent claims an illuminated school bus sign with a "frame" that the district court construed to be a separate distinct component from the rest of the sign, but allowed SMG's doctrine of equivalents theory to proceed to trial."
"At trial, Opti-Luxx did not oppose SMG's motion to recognize its infringement witness as an expert in LED lighting and illuminated signage. However, Opti-Luxx objected when SMG's expert witness began testifying as to the perspective of an ordinary observer to show infringement of SMG's design patent, citing the expert's lack of qualifications. This objection was overruled, leading to the jury's infringement finding on both SMG's utility and design patents."
Federal Circuit reversed and vacated a Western District of Michigan infringement verdict in Smartrend Manufacturing Group v. Opti-Luxx concerning illuminated school bus signs. The court addressed expert testimony offered on the perspective of ordinary observers and indicated that such testimony must demonstrate the expert's familiarity with the perspective of a person of ordinary skill in the art (POSA) to be relevant. The court suggested importing relevancy principles from the utility patent context to design patent disputes. The underlying litigation involved alleged infringement of U.S. Patent No. 11348491 and Design Patent No. D932930 and a contested "frame" claim construction that affected literal infringement.
#design-patent #expert-testimony #person-of-ordinary-skill-in-the-art-posa #federal-circuit #doctrine-of-equivalents
Read at IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Intellectual Property Law
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