Wacom Cries Foul Over Recent Claim Construction Order

Japanese manufacturer of pen and tablet components, Wacom Technology Corporation, alleged Patent Infringement, Violation of 35 U.S.C. § 292, and Unfair Competition, by Defendant Hanvon Corporation . There are six U.S. Patents involved in this case: RE34,187; 4,878,553 (as reexamined), 4,999,461, 5,134,689, RE35,329, and 5,691,513. All patents relate to pen and tablet products and related components. In a claims construction order issued by Judge Bryan on December 21, 2007, 46 separate claim terms were constructed. Judge Bryan's order provides some important insights and practice tips for those litigating patent cases in his court. From the order: "While the majority of the technology involved in this case is governed by Faraday’s Law of Induction (footnote omitted), the claim constructions should be governed by Ockham’s Razor (footnote omitted), which states that one should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the complexity required to explain anything. In other words, the public notice function of patent law is best served if these patents stand on their own two feet without the supporting crutch of complicated judicial constructions."

Judge Bryan's 34-page claims construction order and his 17-page claims construction chart are attached below. Wacom asked for reconsideration in a motion filed on New Year's Eve, 2007. Wacom's primary argument for reconsideration rests on an alleged "manifest and pervasive error of law" tainting the construction of 15 claim terms. According to Wacom's motion, the order mistakenly "conflates claim construction with patent validity—two entirely different exercises in patent law." In essence, Wacom argues that Federal Circuit law prohibits courts from re-writing claim terms under the guise of "preserving validity" and that this improperly places the burden on the patent holder to prove validity at the claims construction phase. The motion for reconsideration is also attached below.

WacomClaimsConstruction.pdf
WacomClaimsConstOrderChart.pdf
WacomMotionforReconsideration.pdf