In an
April 7, 2014 ruling, Judge Jed S. Rakoff denied the defendants’ motion to invalidate two claims in the patent-in-suit in the plaintiffs’ infringement action. Judge Rakoff had earlier denied the defendants’ motion for summary judgment of non-infringement. The defendants argued in the current motion that because the Court had construed the pertinent claim terms but had been unable to reach a conclusion as to non-infringement, the claims are indefinite as lacking a “‘discernible boundary.’” Judge Rakoff rejected this argument, writing:
it would be unusual if a claim that can be construed definitely could suddenly become indefinite because an accused product came close to infringing but left the possibility of its noninfringement. A party should not be able to invalidate another’s patent solely by coming close enough to infringing that a Court cannot determine infringement, a question of fact, as a matter of law on a motion for summary judgment.
