CAFC Affirms MemsTech Infringed Knowles Microphone Patents
The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the International Trade Commission's final determination that the importation and sale of certain silicon microphone packages by MEMS Technology Berhad (MemsTech) violated section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 USC 1337) by infringing the asserted claims of two patents owned by Knowles Electronics LLC. The patents at issue pertained to microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphone packages, which are used in a variety of consumer electronic devices, including mobile phones.
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Among other issues, MemsTech argued that the patents were invalid under 35 USC 103 as their claims were "obvious." The CAFC stated that in order for the patent to be invalid due to "obviousness", a prior art document must disclose every element of the claimed invention, either expressly or inherently, so that the differences between the object to be patented and the prior art would have been obvious at the time the invention was made. According to the CAFC, MemsTech has not met the burden of producing evidence demonstrating “obviousness." Therefore, The CAFC ruled that Knowles' patents are valid and affirmed the ITC's exclusion order barring MemsTech from importing its infringing products into the U.S.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/17/08 and 06/17/09 news, 08011725 and 09061750, for BP summaries of the ITC initiating the patent investigation and issuing a limited exclusion order on the MEMS packages.)
Knowles Electronics press release is available here.