United States Federal Circuit

Plaintiff's patent, describing a system for administering and tracking the value of life insurance policies in separate accounts, is not fatally indefinite; the term "surrender value protected investment" has essentially the same meaning as "stable value protected investment," which the parties agree has a well understood meaning. Judgment of invalidity for indefiniteness is reversed and the case remanded.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/01/2004
• Published 03/01/2004

Judges

• BRYSON, Circuit Judge., Before RADER, BRYSON, and PROST, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Charles K. Verhoeven,Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP, of Redwood Shores, CA, argued for plaintiff-appellant.   With him on the brief was David A. Perlson, Quinn Emanuel, etc., of San Francisco, CA., Joseph P. Zammit, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., of New York, NY, for amicus curiae Metropolitan Life Insurance Company., Matthew B. Lowrie, Lowrie, Lando & Anastasi, LLP, of Cambridge, MA, for amicus curiae Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (U.S.).  Of counsel on the brief was Ilan N. Barzilay, Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks, P.C., of Boston, MA.


• For Appellees:
  
• Seth P. Waxman, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, of Washington, DC, argued for defendants-appellees.   With him on the brief were Jonathan E. Nuechterlein and Todd C. Zubler.   Of counsel on the brief were R. Laurence Macon, Kirt S. O'Neill, and Melanie G. Cowart, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., of San Antonio, TX. Also of counsel on the brief was Rex S. Heinke, Akin, Gump, etc., of Los Angeles, CA.