Ex. PGS 1031
`(EXCERPTED)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`(EXCERPTED)
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
` 1
`Case 4:09-cv-01827 Document 429 Filed in TXSD on 07/24/12 Page 1 of 176
`
` 1
` 2
` 3
` 4
` 5
` 6
` 7
` 8
` 9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
`HOUSTON DIVISION
`
`WESTERNGECO LLC, . 4:09-CV-01827
` . HOUSTON, TEXAS
`PLAINTIFF, .
` .
` vs. .
` .
`ION GEOPHYSICAL .
`CORPORATION, FUGRO GEOTEAM, .
`INC., ET AL, .
` .
`DEFENDANTS . JULY 23, 2012
`. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8:15 A.M.
`
`TRANSCRIPT OF JURY TRIAL
`BEFORE THE HONORABLE KEITH P. ELLISON
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
`
`A P P E A R A N C E S:
`FOR THE PLAINTIFF:
`Lee K. Kaplan
`SMYSER KAPLAN & VESELKA LLP
`Bank of America Center
`700 Louisiana, Suite 2300
`Houston, Texas 77002
`Gregg F. LoCascio
`KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
`655 Fifteenth Street Northwest
`Washington, DC 20005
`Sarah Tsou
`Timothy K. Gilman
`KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP
`Citigroup Center
`153 East 53rd Street
`New York, New York 10022
`
`Mayra Malone, CSR, RMR, CRR
`mayramalone@comcast.net
`
`Ex. PGS 1031
`
`
`
`12:59
`
`12:59
`
`13:00
`
`13:00
`
`13:00
`
`13:01
`
` 142
`Case 4:09-cv-01827 Document 429 Filed in TXSD on 07/24/12 Page 142 of 176
`
` 1
` 2
` 3
` 4
` 5
` 6
` 7
` 8
` 9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`
`and the patent examiner, including a record of any rejections,
`the applicant's responses and any amendments.
`Once a patent has issued, the inventor, or the
`person or company the inventor has assigned the patent to, can
`enforce the patent against anyone who uses the invention
`without permission. We call such unlawful use "infringement."
`But the PTO and its examiners do not decide infringement
`issues. If there is a dispute about infringement, it is
`brought to the Court to decide. Sometimes in a court case, you
`are also asked to decide about validity; that is, whether the
`patent should have been allowed at all by the PTO.
`A party accused of infringement is entitled to
`challenge whether the asserted patent claims are sufficiently
`new or nonobvious in light of the prior art or whether other
`requirements of patentability have been met. In other words, a
`defense to an infringement lawsuit is that the patent in
`question is invalid.
`You may wonder why it is that you would be asked
`to consider such things when the patent has already been
`reviewed by a government examiner. There are several reasons
`for this. First, there may be facts or arguments that the
`examiner did not consider, such as prior art that was not
`located by the PTO or provided by the applicant.
`Another reason may be the failure by the
`applicant to disclose the best way of making or using the
`
`Mayra Malone, CSR, RMR, CRR
`mayramalone@comcast.net
`
`Ex. PGS 1031
`
`
`
`13:04
`
`13:05
`
`13:05
`
`13:05
`
`13:06
`
`13:06
`
` 145
`Case 4:09-cv-01827 Document 429 Filed in TXSD on 07/24/12 Page 145 of 176
`
` 1
` 2
` 3
` 4
` 5
` 6
` 7
` 8
` 9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`
`system that WesternGeco argues are covered by its patented
`system claims. WesternGeco further alleges that Fugro-Geoteam
`infringed certain method claims of the Bittleston patents by
`selling or offering for sale within the United States methods
`that WesternGeco argues are covered by its method claim.
`The Court has already made a finding of
`infringement as to Claim 18 of the '520 patent. You will hear
`more about that later.
`ION and Fugro deny WesternGeco's allegations and
`further argue that their method and system claims are invalid.
`I will instruct you later as to the ways in which a patent may
`be invalid. In general, however, a patent is invalid if it is
`not new or it is obvious in view of the state of the art at the
`relevant time or if the description in the patent does not meet
`certain requirements. Your job will be to decide whether ION
`and Fugro infringed the patent claims asserted by WesternGeco
`and whether or not those claims are invalid.
`If you decide that any of the claims is infringed
`and is not invalid, you will then need to decide any money
`damages to be awarded WesternGeco to compensate it for the
`infringement. You will also need to make a finding as to
`whether the infringement was willful. If you decide that any
`infringement was willful, that decision should not affect any
`damages award you give. I will take willfulness into account
`later.
`
`Mayra Malone, CSR, RMR, CRR
`mayramalone@comcast.net
`
`Ex. PGS 1031
`
`
`
`13:06
`
`13:06
`
`13:07
`
`13:07
`
`13:07
`
`13:08
`
` 146
`Case 4:09-cv-01827 Document 429 Filed in TXSD on 07/24/12 Page 146 of 176
`
` 1
` 2
` 3
` 4
` 5
` 6
` 7
` 8
` 9
`10
`11
`12
`13
`14
`15
`16
`17
`18
`19
`20
`21
`22
`23
`24
`25
`
`Let's take a moment to look at United States
`Patent Number '520, one of the patents in this case. The cover
`page of the patent identifies the date the patent was granted
`and patent number along the top as well as the inventor's
`names, the filing date and a list of the references considered
`in the PTO. The specification of the patent begins with an
`abstract, also found on the cover page. The abstract is a
`brief statement about the subject matter of the invention.
`Next comes the drawings. These illustrate
`various aspects or features of the invention. The written
`description of the invention appears next and is organized in
`the two columns on the next page. The specification ends with
`numbered paragraphs. These are the patent claims.
`I have already determined the meaning of certain
`terms of the claims of the patents. You have been given a
`document reflecting those meanings. For a claim term for which
`I have not provided you with a definition, you should apply the
`ordinary meaning. You are to apply my definitions of these
`terms throughout this case. However, my interpretation of the
`language of the claims should not be taken as an indication
`that I have a view regarding issues such as infringement and
`validity. Those issues are yours to decide. I will provide
`you with more detailed instructions with the meaning of the
`claims before you retire to deliberate on your verdict.
`After our lunch break, the trial will begin.
`
`Mayra Malone, CSR, RMR, CRR
`mayramalone@comcast.net
`
`Ex. PGS 1031
Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.
After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.
Accept $ Charge
Still Working On It
This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.
Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.
A few More Minutes ... Still Working
It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.
Thank you for your continued patience.
This document could not be displayed.
We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
Set your membership
status to view this document.
With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll
get a whole lot more, including:
- Up-to-date information for this case.
- Email alerts whenever there is an update.
- Full text search for other cases.
- Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.
One Moment Please
The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.
Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.
Your document is on its way!
If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.
Sealed Document
We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.
If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.
Access Government Site
