Court orders contempt hearing regarding redesigned product
nCUBE Corporation (now Arris Group, Inc.) v. Seachange International, Inc. (redacted), C. A. No. 01-011-LPS, September 2, 2011.
Stark, J. After a hearing on whether this dispute is amenable to a contempt proceeding, the court reserves judgment on plaintiff’s motion for contempt to hold defendant in contempt of permanent injunction order and schedules a contempt hearing.
The disputed technology relates to video-on-demand products and services. This lawsuit has been pending over ten years. After a jury verdict of infringement in 2002, defendant took steps to design around the patent. After appellate proceedings the court entered a permanent injunction. The legal framework applicable to contempt proceedings previously defined by KSM was altered by Tivo during the course of the briefing. The court concludes as a result that it can resolve some, but not all, of the disputed issues and requires further proceedings to determine if the modified system is a successful design-around or an impermissible continued infringement. The court does find that this dispute is not barred by defendant’s claim of res judicata, laches, equitable estoppel, and prosecution history estoppel. Plaintiff’s objections to expert testimony presented during this hearing were overruled. Based on the current record, the court is inclined to find there are no colorable differences between the infringing system and the modified product. Final decision is reserved pending a further hearing on whether a significant, colorable difference exists between the two products.
