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Cooper Cameron Corp. v. Kvaerner Oilfield Products, Inc.

Summary judgment of noninfringement in favor of defendant affirmed because accused device did not infringe plaintiff's patent under doctrine of equivalents; summary judgment in favor of defendant with reference to second patent reversed because court erred in determining that plaintiff's patent claims were invalid for lack of written description.

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Cooper Cameron Corporation appeals from the decision of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas granting Kvaerner Oilfield Products, Inc.’s motion for summary judgment of noninfringement of claim 10 of Cooper’s U.S. Patent 5,544,707 and its motion for summary judgment that the asserted claims of Cooper’s U.S. Patent 6,039,119 are invalid for inadequate written description under 35 U.S.C. � 112, � 1. Cooper Cameron Corp. v. Kvaerner Oilfield Prods., Inc., No. H-97-0155, slip op. (S.D. Tex. Apr. 16, 2001) (“Cooper I”). Kvaerner cross-appeals from the court’s grant of Cooper’s motion for summary judgment holding that certain documents did not qualify as “printed publications” under 35 U.S.C. � 102. Because Kvaerner’s accused wellhead device does not infringe the ’707 patent under the doctrine of equivalents as a matter of law, we affirm on that issue. We conclude, however, that the court erred in its determination that the ’119 patent claims are invalid for lack of written description and we therefore reverse the court’s grant of summary judgment on that issue. We also reverse the court’s grant of summary judgment that the asserted references are not “printed publications” within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. � 102.

BACKGROUND

Cooper is the assignee of the ’707 and ’119 patents, which are directed to subsea wellheads having a horizontal spool tree arrangement that protects the integrity of the well during “workover” activities for repair and maintenance. Cooper I at 2. The ’707 patent issued first, on August 13, 1996. Claim 10 of that patent recites “[a] wellhead comprising . . . a workover port extending laterally through the wall of the spool tree from between the two plugs.” ’707 patent, col. 9, l. 34 – col. 10, ll. 4-5 (emphasis added). Cooper amended claim 10 during prosecution by incorporating a number of limitations from other claims. Cooper I at 5.

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