Belden Techns., Inc. v. Superior Essex Commc'ns LP

802 F.Supp.2d 555

BELDEN TECHNOLOGIES INC. and Belden CDT (Canada) Inc., Plaintiffs,

v.SUPERIOR ESSEX COMMUNICATIONS LP and Superior Essex Inc., Defendants.

Civ. No. 08–63–SLR.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

Aug. 12, 2011.

John W. Shaw, Esquire, Adam Wyatt Poff, Esquire, Karen Elizabeth Keller, Esquire and Pilar Gabrielle Kraman, Esquire of Young, Conaway, Stargatt & Taylor, LLP, Wilmington, DE, of counsel: Matthew B. Lowrie, Esquire, Marc N. Henschke, Esquire, Michelle A. Flores, Esquire, Matthew A. Ambros, Esquire and Robert J. Silverman, Esquire of Foley & Lardner LLP. Thomas P. McNulty, Esquire of Lando & Anastasi, LLP, for Plaintiffs.

Jeffrey L. Moyer, Esquire, Anne Shea Gaza, Esquire and Lori A. Brewington, Esquire of Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., Wilmington, DE, of counsel: Holmes J. Hawkins III, Esquire, James J. Mayberry, Esquire, Russel E. Blythe, Esquire and Laura S. Huffman, Esquire of King & Spalding LLP, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

SUE L. ROBINSON, District Judge.I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Belden Technologies, Inc. and Belden CDT (Canada) Inc. (collectively, “Belden”) own several patents directed to high performance data cables and methods of making such cables, including U.S. Patent Nos. 5,424,491 (“the '491 patent”), 6,074,503 (“the '503 patent”), 7,135,641 (“the '641 patent”), 7,339,116 (“the '116 patent”), 6,570,095 (“the '095 patent”), 6,998,537 (“the '537 patent”) and 7,179,999 (“the '999 patent”) (collectively, “the patents in suit”). On December 2, 2009, plaintiffs dropped their claim of infringement of the '944 patent, and on December 4, 2009, the parties stipulated that certain claims of the patents in suit were infringed and others were not. (D.I. 105, 106) The court resolved the remaining issues of infringement in its memorandum opinion on summary judgment of August 18, 2010. (D.I. 218) In said opinion, the court also found that claims 4 and 7 of the '116 patent were invalid. ( Id.) A trial was held from September 7–15, 2010 on the outstanding invalidity issues. The jury returned a verdict finding that claim 1 of the '503 patent, claims 1 and 2 of the '491 patent and claim 31 of the '095 patent were invalid. (D.I. 247) The jury further found that claim 19 of the '537 patent, claim 2 of the '999 patent, claim 27 of the '095 patent, and claim 13 of the '641 patent were not invalid. ( Id.) Currently before the court are plaintiffs' renewed motion for JMOL of no anticipation and no obviousness or for a new trial (D.I. 254), defendants' renewed motion for JMOL of anticipation, to amend the judgment, or for a new trial (D.I. 250), and plaintiffs' motion for a permanent injunction (D.I. 251).

II. BACKGROUNDA. Technology Overview

The court presumes familiarity with the data cable technology at issue in this case, as detailed in its prior opinion. See Belden Techs. Inc. v. Superior Essex Commc'ns LP, 733 F.Supp.2d 517, 524–533 (D.Del.2010). In summary, the high performance data cables at issue utilize twisted pair technology. Data cables designed for communication applications are generally comprised of at least two twisted pairs, with one of the pairs transmitting data and the other receiving data. ('116 patent, col. 1:16–17) An individual twisted pair typically includes two insulated conductors,¹ helically twisted together. The helical twist imparts a measure of control over certain electrical parameters upon which the viability of a high performance data cable depends. (' 116 patent, col. 1:22–25) The critical parameters include, at a basic level, the concepts of attenuation and noise, both of which have deleterious effects upon the signal carried by the data cable. ( See id., col. 1:25–29) The impedance of a circuit can contribute to the loss of signal, otherwise known as attenuation. ( See id.) Likewise, crosstalk ² is one of several electronic phenomena that produces signal interference, or noise. ( See id.)

Multiple tools exist to obviate or minimize these undesirable characteristics and meet performance specifications, including cable lay techniques and various cable configurations. ( Id., col. 1:30–49) The longitudinal distance between twists in a twisted pair is known as the “twist lay.” ('503 patent, col. 1:28–30) In an unshielded twisted pair cable (“UTP”) employing a uniform twist lay, the adjacent twisted pairs are closely aligned. ( Id., col. 1:31–34) This proximity magnifies crosstalk. ( Id.) Varying the twist lays among the twisted pairs of a cable increases the distance between adjacent twisted pairs and, accordingly, reduces crosstalk. ( Id., col. 1:35–39)

Cables designed for voice frequency or low-speed data typically employ a twist lay of between 3.7 and 5.7 inches. ('491 patent, col. 1:7–13) By contrast, high-speed data cables require a much smaller twist lay. ( Id., col. 1:18–23) The conventional low-speed data cables minimized crosstalk through use of the aforementioned variation in twist lay. ( Id. at col. 1:40–43) Introducing these variations among twisted pairs characterized by smaller twist lays results in an uncontrollable nominal characteristic impedance,³ which may cause an impermissible deviation from telecommunication industry standards. ( Id., col. 1:53–67)

Alternatively, each individual twisted pair in the cable may be surrounded by a conductive “shield,” creating a shielded twisted pair cable (“STP”). The individual shields in a STP act to prevent or reduce the occurrence of NEXT and FEXT. Surrounding the plurality of twisted pairs with an overall shield, otherwise known as a screened twisted pair cable (“ScTP”), also serves to minimize crosstalk. Both configurations suffer from the potential for geometric instability,⁴ and cost appreciably more to manufacture than an UTP. (' 116 patent, col. 1:39–41)

III. STANDARDSA. Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

To prevail on a renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law following a jury trial under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b), the moving party “ ‘must show that the jury's findings, presumed or express, are not supported by substantial evidence or, if they were, that the legal conclusions implied [by] the jury's verdict cannot in law be supported by those findings.’ ” Pannu v. Iolab Corp., 155 F.3d 1344, 1348 (Fed.Cir.1998) (quoting Perkin–Elmer Corp. v. Computervision Corp., 732 F.2d 888, 893 (Fed.Cir.1984)). “ ‘Substantial’ evidence is such relevant evidence from the record taken as a whole as might be acceptable by a reasonable mind as adequate to support the finding under review.” Perkin–Elmer Corp., 732 F.2d at 893. In assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, the court must give the non-moving party, “as [the] verdict winner, the benefit of all logical inferences that could be drawn from the evidence presented, resolve all conflicts in the evidence in his favor, and in general, view the record in the light most favorable to him.” Williamson v. Consol. Rail Corp., 926 F.2d 1344, 1348 (3d Cir.1991); Perkin–Elmer Corp., 732 F.2d at 893. The court may not determine the credibility of the witnesses nor “substitute its choice for that of the jury between conflicting elements of the evidence.” Id. In summary, the court must determine whether the evidence reasonably supports the jury's verdict. See Dawn Equip. Co. v. Kentucky Farms Inc., 140 F.3d 1009, 1014 (Fed.Cir.1998).

B. Motion for a New Trial

The decision to grant or deny a new trial is within the sound discretion of the trial court and, unlike the standard for determining judgment as a matter of law, the court need not view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict winner. See Allied Chem. Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc., 449 U.S. 33, 36, 101 S.Ct. 188, 66 L.Ed.2d 193 (1980). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(a) provides, in pertinent part:

A new trial may be granted to all or any of the parties and on all or part of the issues in an action in which there has been a trial by jury, for any of the reasons for which new trials have heretofore been granted in actions at law in the courts of the United States.

New trials are commonly granted in the following situations: (1) where the jury's verdict is against the clear weight of the evidence, and a new trial must be granted to prevent a miscarriage of justice; (2) where newly-discovered evidence surfaces that would likely alter the outcome of the trial; (3) where improper conduct by an attorney or the court unfairly influenced the verdict; or (4) where the jury's verdict was facially inconsistent. See Zarow–Smith v. N.J. Transit Rail Operations, 953 F.Supp. 581, 584 (D.N.J.1997) (citations omitted). The court, however, must proceed cautiously and not substitute its own judgment of the facts and assessment of the witnesses' credibility for the jury's independent evaluation. Nevertheless,

[w]here a trial is long and complicated and deals with a subject matter not lying within the ordinary knowledge of jurors a verdict should be scrutinized more closely by the trial judge than is necessary where the litigation deals with material which is familiar and simple, the evidence relating to ordinary commercial practices. An example of subject matter unfamiliar to a layman would be a case requiring a jury to pass upon the nature of an alleged newly discovered organic compound in an infringement action.

Lind v. Schenley Indus. Inc., 278 F.2d 79, 90–91 (3d Cir.1960).

C. Motion to Amend the Judgment

The standard for obtaining relief under Rule 59(e) is difficult to meet. The purpose of a motion for reconsideration is to “correct manifest errors of law or fact or to present newly discovered evidence.” Max's Seafood Cafe, By Lou–Ann, Inc. v. Quinteros, 176 F.3d 669, 677 (3d Cir.1999) (citing Harsco Corp. v. Zlotnicki, 779 F.2d 906, 909 (3d Cir.1985)). Therefore, a court should exercise its discretion to alter or amend its judgment only if the movant demonstrates one of the following: (1) a change in the controlling law; (2) a need to correct a clear error of law or...