United States Federal Circuit
Wordtech Sys., Inc. v. Integrated Networks Solutions, Inc., 09-1454
In a patent infringement suit against defendant and its two employees, related to patents involving technology for automated duplication of compact discs, district court's judgment is affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded where: 1) district court's denial of defendants' Rule 59(a) motion is reversed and remanded as the jury's verdict of the two employees' individual liability of direct infringement, despite the lack of instructions on defendant's existence or piercing its corporate veil, was plain error that requires a new trial; 2)jury verdict of individual liability for inducement is reversed as it involved a mistake of law; 3) district court's legal error in presenting the contributory infringement issue with respect to individual liability of the two employees to the jury requires a new trial; 4) because the verdict was clearly not supported by the evidence and was based on only speculation or guesswork, district court's denial of defendants' Rule 59(a) motion is reversed and remanded for a new trial on damages; and 5) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying defendants' motion for leave to amend.
Appellate Information
- Decided 06/16/2010
- Published 06/16/2010
Judges
Court
- United States Federal Circuit