Case Resources
Search this Case
in Google Scholar
on the Web
Google Web Search
MSN Web Search
Yahoo! Web Search
in the News
Google News Search
Google News Archive Search
Yahoo! News Search
in the Blogs
BlawgSearch.com Search
Google Blog Search
Technorati Blog Search
in other Databases
Google Book Search
Justia Research Resources
Justia.com
Supreme Court Center
US Regulation Tracker
US District Court Opinions
Federal District Court Civil Case Filings
Legal Blog Search
Legal Podcast Search
USA Constitution Annotated
Online Research Resources
Cornell LII
Cornell Wex Dictionary & Encyclopedia
LLRX.com - Legal Research
Expert Witness Directory
Nolo Consumer & Business
US Court Forms
WashLaw Directory
World LII
Cases Provided By
Creative Commons
public.resource.org
Mas-hamilton Group, Plaintiff Cross-appellant, v. Lagard, Inc., (now Known As Masco Corporation) Defendant-appellant,andhi-shear Technology Corporation, Defendant
United States Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit. - 156 F.3d 1206
Sept. 10, 1998
David E. Schmit, Frost & Jacobs LLP, Cincinnati, Ohio, argued for plaintiff cross-appellant.
Christopher Darrow, Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP, Los Angeles, California, argued for defendant-appellant. With him on the brief were Michael D. Harris and Guy Porter Smith.
Before MICHEL, PLAGER, and GAJARSA, Circuit Judges.
MICHEL, Circuit Judge.
Declaratory judgment defendant-appellant, La Gard, Inc. ("La Gard"), appeals the decision of the United Stated District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky holding after a bench trial that United States Patent No. 5,307,656 (the " '656 patent") was not shown infringed by declaratory-plaintiff/cross-appellant Mas-Hamilton Group's ("Mas-Hamilton's") X-07 lock. See Mas-Hamilton v. La Gard, Inc., No. 94-349, slip op. at 74, 1997 WL 1042597, 21 F.Supp.2d 700 (E.D.Ky. Mar. 5, 1997). Mas-Hamilton, the purported infringer, cross-appeals the district court's determination that the '656 patent is not invalid. Because we hold that the district court did not clearly err in determining that the accused X-07 lock does not infringe the asserted claims of the '656 patent and that the district court did not err in determining that the '656 patent is not invalid, we affirm on both the appeal and cross-appeal.
BACKGROUND
The '656 patent is entitled: "High Security Electronic Dial Combination Lock." Figure 1 from the patent has been reproduced below, and description of the disclosed lock will be made with reference to this figure. The electronic combination lock 20 includes a locking mechanism or bolt 36 for operating between a locked condition and an unlocked condition, a rotatable cam wheel 47 having a circumferential surface portion defining a slot 88 such that the rotation of the cam wheel moves the slot, and a movable lever 46 coupled to the locking mechanism for changing the condition between locked and unlocked. The movable lever can be pivoted out of engagement with the cam wheel. When the movable lever engages the cam wheel, rotation of the cam wheel changes the condition of the locking mechanism. A cantilever arm 52 and detent 54 on the lever releasably maintain the lever in a position disengaged from the cam wheel. A solenoid1 and projectable detent 96 move the lever from its disengaged position to a position engaging the cam wheel thus changing the locking mechanism from the locked condition to the unlocked condition. '656 pat., col. 7, l. 4--col. 8, l. 24.
NOTE: OPINION CONTAINS TABLE OR OTHER DATA THAT IS NOT VIEWABLE
The solenoid is not shown in Figure 1, but it is located inside the solenoid housing 62