Overview
Kenyon & Kenyon LLP has significant experience handling intellectual property matters involving a wide array of mechanical products, related mechanical processes, and industrial and equipment manufacturing. We have successfully obtained multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements enforcing patents in the mechanical arts, and have also successfully defended numerous lawsuits in the field. We regularly prosecute patents in this field, and ensure design and trademark protection, which can be as valuable for our clients as utility patents.
We have worked with a broad range of technologies, including:
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- commercial printing presses
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- food processing machinery
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- Industrial technology products
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- medical and surgical devices
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- production machinery and processes
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Litigation Successes involving Mechanical Products
- Bosch. Kenyon won a Federal Circuit victory for client Robert Bosch LLC in a patent infringement case involving windshield-wiper technology. Bosch first won an infringement jury trial in the District of Delaware, but the district court declined Bosch’s request to enter a permanent injunction against the infringer. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the district court and, rather than remanding for the district court, ordered the district court to enter an injunction, an important ruling helping to define the continued availability of injunctions after the Supreme Court’s 2006 eBay decision. The case was settled. Robert Bosch LLC v. Pylon Manufacturing Corp. (Fed. Cir.)
- Bosch. Kenyon represented Bosch in an ITC investigation filed by Bosch against thirteen respondents for infringing nine patents related to Bosch’s innovative beam-type wiper blades. In early 2013, three of the companies agreed to stop importing the products claimed to be infringing Bosch’s patents. The case was settled with the remaining parties in 2014. Certain Wiper Blades (337-TA-816)
- Toyota. Kenyon represented Toyota against American Vehicular Sciences LLC (“AVS”) (an Acacia Research subsidiary) in litigation originally consisting of seven cases in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. AVS brought suit against Toyota and affiliated entities in 2012, asserting 24 patents related to various automotive safety technologies. Through aggressive litigation, including 12 successful petitions for inter partes review before the USPTO and a successful request to stay AVS’ district court claims with respect to those patents, Kenyon reduced the litigation to 11 patents, of which six currently stand rejected before the USPTO. In 2014, a three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted Toyota’s petition for a writ of mandamus, vacating the decision by the Eastern District of Texas not to transfer the litigation against Toyota to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. In re: Toyota Motor Corp. et al. (Fed. Cir.)
- Toyota. Kenyon won a motion to dismiss with prejudice a patent infringement suit brought against 62 defendants, including client Toyota. The case, filed by inventor Samy Gharb, was dismissed by the court in light of the plaintiff’s complete lack of substantive allegations and repeated failure to heed the guidance of past court orders. Samy Gharb v. Rockwell Automation et al. (N.D. Ill)
- Volkswagen and Audi. Kenyon won a Federal Circuit appeal affirming its summary judgment of non-infringement win for Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. in an Eastern District of Texas patent infringement case brought by patent holding company MHL Tek against nine automakers. The case, which related to tire-pressure monitoring systems, marked a victory for the auto industry. MHL Tek, LLC v. Nissan Motor Co. (Fed. Cir.)
- Delphi Automotive Systems. Kenyon won four summary judgment motions on behalf of Delphi Automotive Systems in a declaratory judgment action filed by the company in the Eastern District of Michigan. After certain of its customers had been sued in Texas, Delphi filed this action against Automotive Technologies International ("ATI"), seeking a declaratory judgment of the invalidity of certain ATI patents relating generally to occupant sensors for airbag control in automobiles. The infringement counterclaims filed by ATI centered around Delphi’s Passive Occupant Detection System ("PODS") products. During the course of the litigation, ATI dropped allegations of infringement with respect to certain of its patents, and the case proceeded with respect to representative claims of four remaining patents. The court construed the claims of these patents, and Delphi filed summary judgment motions of patent invalidity. After hearing oral arguments, the court ruled in favor of Delphi, finding all four of the patents-in-suit invalid as either anticipated by or obvious over the prior art. Automotive Technologies International, Inc. v. Delphi Corporation, et al. (E.D. Mich.)
- Volkswagen. Kenyon won a motion for summary judgment and obtained a dismissal of the patent infringement case filed against Volkswagen by Service Reminder, LLC, a subsidiary of well-known non-practicing entity Acacia Patent Acquisition Corporation. The case involved infringement claims related to a patent on a device that notifies a driver to perform a vehicle maintenance task. Kenyon successfully convinced the Eastern District of Michigan court that Service Reminder’s patent was invalid based on anticipation by prior art. Kenyon had previously won a motion to transfer the case from the District of New Jersey, where it was originally filed, to Michigan, one of the less favorable jurisdictions for patent holders litigating infringement issues. Case Service Reminder, LLC v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (E.D. Mich.)
- Goss International. Kenyon obtained a favorable claim construction ruling and summary judgment of infringement for plaintiff Goss International in this patent infringement litigation. In addition, Kenyon obtained summary judgments dismissing MAN antitrust defenses and successfully opposed seven motions for summary judgment brought by MAN Roland seeking rulings from the court of non-infringement, invalidity and unenforceability of Goss's patents. The patent technology in this case is offset lithographic printing presses. Goss International Americas, Inc. v. MAN Roland, Inc. and MAN Roland Druckmaschinen AG (D.N.H.)
Knowledge and Experience
Our ability to safeguard the IP assets of industrial and equipment manufacturers is enhanced by the educational and career backgrounds of our attorneys. Over 70 attorneys at the firm hold undergraduate and/or advanced degrees in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, physics, and/or computer science, facilitating our ability to understand the science behind our clients’ innovations and therefore, allowing us to approach each matter with efficiency.
Representative Experience