By Matthew Bultman
Law360 (July 16, 2018, 7:34 PM EDT) — Blackbird Technologies, a Boston patent litigation company founded by former BigLaw partners, notched a victory at the Federal Circuit on Monday, when the court revived infringement lawsuits it brought against companies over a patent related to energy- efficient lighting.
In a 2-1 decision, the appeals court vacated a Delaware federal court’s judgment in favor of ELB Electronics Inc., ETi Solid State Lighting Inc. and Feit Electric Co. Inc., finding it was based on an erroneous interpretation of a key term in the patent.
The case was sent back to the lower court for additional proceedings. Blackbird wrote Monday that it is excited to move forward with the case.
Looking forward to resuming this case after winning on appeal! https://t.co/tZFhrapVCQ — Blackbird Tech (@bbirdtech) July 16, 2018
Attorneys for ELB, ETi and Feit couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
Founded by Wendy Verlander and Chris Freeman, former partners at WilmerHale and Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Blackbird has initiated lawsuits against companies over patents related to everything from data storage to sports bra technology.
The current case involves a patent covering an apparatus designed to retrofit fluorescent light fixtures with lights that are more energy-efficient. Blackbird filed separate lawsuits in January 2015 accusing ELB, ETi and Feit of infringement. Each of the companies makes lighting products.
Blackbird stipulated to a judgment of noninfringement following a claim construction ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Andrews, conceding that under the district court’s interpretation it could not prove the defendant companies infringed.
At issue was the term “attachment surface,” as used in the patent.
Judge Andrews interpreted it to mean the layer of the housing that is secured to the ballast cover. But the Federal Circuit said that was incorrect.
“By its plain language, [the patent claim] does not require the attachment surface to be secured to the ballast cover,” U.S. Circuit Judge Kimberly Moore wrote for the majority.
U.S. Circuit Judge Jimmie Reyna dissented from the ruling, saying he agreed with the lower court’s interpretation of the term. The judge said his colleagues’ construction ignored the context in which the term was used.
Judge Reyna also said the majority’s interpretation opens the door for a validity challenge on the grounds the patent doesn’t meet written description or enablement requirements. The latter requires a patent teach someone skilled in the field how to make and use the claimed invention.
“Stated differently, the majority’s construction is a route towards rendering the patent invalid,” the judge wrote.
Chief Judge Sharon Prost joined Circuit Judges Reyna and Kimberly Moore on the Federal Circuit panel.
The patent at issue is U.S. Patent Number 7,086,747.
Blackbird is represented in-house by Christopher Freeman and Wendy Verlander and by Stamatios Stamoulis of Stamoulis & Weinblatt LLC.
ELB and Feit are represented by John Hintz of Maynard Cooper & Gale PC. ETI is represented by Philip A. Rovner, Jonathan A. Choa and Alan R. Silverstein of Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP and by David Peter Hochberg of Walter Haverfield LLP.
The case is Blackbird Tech LLC v. ELB Electronics Inc. et al., case number 17-1703, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
–Editing by Alyssa Miller.