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Monarch Knitting Machinery Corp. Declaratory Judgmentplaintiff/counterclaim Plaintiff-appellee,andfukuhara Industrial & Trading Co. Ltd., Fukuhara Needlecompany, Ltd., Precision Fukuhara Works Limited,and Monarch International Japan Limited,counterclaim Plaintiffs-appellees, v. Sulzer Morat Gmbh, Declaratory Judgment Defendant-appellant,andtheodor Groz & Sohne and Ernst Beckert Nadelfabrik,commandit-gesellschaft, Plaintiff-appellant,andgroz-beckert U.s.a., Inc., Counterclaim Defendant-appellant
United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. - 139 F.3d 877
March 10, 1998
Nicholas L. Coch, Rogers and Wells, New York City, argued for declaratory judgment defendant-appellant, plaintiff-appellant and counterclaim defendant-appellant. With him on brief were George P. Hoare, Jr. and Richard B. LeBlanc.
John J. Barnhardt, III, Bell Seltzer, Park & Gibson, P.A., Charlotte, NC, argued for declaratory judgment plaintiff/counterclaim plaintiffs-appellees. With him on the brief were Paul B. Bell and Michael S. Connor, Bell Seltzer, Park & Gibson, P.A., Charlotte, NC, and Frederick Newman and Marianne Manning Russo, Salamon, Gruber, Newman & Blaymore, P.C., Roslyn Heights, NY.
Before MAYER, Chief Judge,* LOURIE, and RADER, Circuit Judges.
RADER, Circuit Judge.
On summary judgment, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York declared claims 1-5, 7-11, 13, and 15 of U.S. Patent No. 4,452,053 (the '053 patent) invalid for obviousness. Because the trial court improperly resolved genuine issues of material fact, this court vacates the judgment and remands for further proceedings.
The '053 patent covers thin metal needles for machines that automatically knit yarn into fabric. The knitting machine industry refers to the '053 needles as "low-profile" needles. A figure from the '053 patent, reproduced below, shows a "low-profile" needle. The labels accompanying the figure denote various portions of the needle.
NOTE: OPINION CONTAINS TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE