throbber
Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 1 of 28 PageID #: 4130
`Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 1 of 28 PagelD #: 4130
`
`
`
`
`EXHIBIT 1
`EXHIBIT 1
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 1 of 27 PageID #: 398Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 2 of 28 PageID #: 4131
`
`IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF WEST VIRGINIA
`(MARTINSBURG DIVISION)
`
`
`AUTOMATED MERCHANDISING
`SYSTEMS INC.
`a Delaware corporation,
`Plaintiff,
`
`v.
`CRANE CO.,
`a Delaware corporation, and
`
`
`SEAGA MANUFACTURING, INC.,
`an Illinois corporation,
`Defendants.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Civil Action No. 3:08-CV-0097-JPB
`
`
`PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Charles F. Printz, Jr. (WVSB #2985)
`Brian M. Peterson (WVSB #7770)
`BOWLES RICE MCDAVID GRAFF
` & LOVE LLP
`101 South Queen St., P.O. Drawer 1419
`Martinsburg, West Virginia 25401
`Telephone: 304-263-0836
`Facsimile: 304-267-3822
`
`James D. Berquist
`Donald L. Jackson
`DAVIDSON BERQUIST JACKSON
` & GOWDEY LLP
`4300 Wilson Blvd., Suite 700
`Arlington, Virginia 22203
`Telephone: 703-894-6400
`Facsimile: 703-894-6430
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 2 of 27 PageID #: 399Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 3 of 28 PageID #: 4132
`
`TABLE OF CONTENTS
`
`I. SYNOPSIS ...............................................................................................................................1
`
`II. BACKGROUND FACTS.........................................................................................................3
`
`A. AMS Developed Its Place in the Market Through Product Innovation ............................3
`
`1. AMS’ Patented Technology.....................................................................................5
`
`2. AMS’ Inventions......................................................................................................8
`
`B. AMS’ Invention Became the Industry Standard ...............................................................9
`
`C. Crane Recently Introduced Its “AMS Killer” .................................................................10
`
`III. ARGUMENT..........................................................................................................................14
`
`A. Legal Standards for a Preliminary Injunction .................................................................14
`
`B. The Court Should Issue a Preliminary Injunction ...........................................................14
`
`1. AMS is Likely to Succeed on the Merits...............................................................14
`
`a. Crane is not likely to Prove the Patents Invalid or Unenforceable ...................15
`
`b. Crane Infringes the ‘915 Patent and the ‘220 Patent ........................................17
`
`2. AMS Will Suffer Irreparable Harm if a Preliminary Injunction is
`Not Granted............................................................................................................18
`
`3.
`
`4.
`
`The Balance of Hardships Favor AMS..................................................................21
`
`The Public Interest Weighs Strongly in Favor of Issuing a
`Preliminary Injunction ...........................................................................................22
`
`IV. CONCLUSION.......................................................................................................................23
`
`
`
`
`
`-i-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 3 of 27 PageID #: 400Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 4 of 28 PageID #: 4133
`
`Plaintiff Automated Merchandising Systems Inc. (“AMS”) moves this Court for an Order
`
`preliminarily enjoining defendant Crane Co. (“Crane”) from selling the low-temperature, optical
`
`vend detector-equipped vending machines it markets under its GPL brand as the Fusion and
`
`under the Automatic Products (“AP”) brand as the UltraFlex. Crane commercially introduced
`
`this new line of low temperature vending machines at the Spring 2008 NAMA show and has
`
`only recently begun shipping that product. Because this product was designed to allow Crane to
`
`convert purchasers of AMS’ patented Sensit® products to purchasers of Crane’s infringing
`
`products, Crane’s further sales of this new product will irreparably harm AMS by reducing
`
`AMS’ market share, injuring AMS’ relationship with its distributors, and threatening AMS’ very
`
`existence. The fact that the new Crane machines (both GPL and AP) are equipped with AP’s
`
`Golden-Eye vend detection system found to infringe in the earlier action between AMS and AP
`
`makes the present motion all the more compelling.
`
`I.
`
`SYNOPSIS
`
`AMS accuses Crane’s glass-front vending machines equipped with an optical vend
`
`sensor of infringing U.S. Patent Nos. 7,191,915 (“the ‘915 patent”) and 7,343,220 (“the ‘220
`
`patent”) in this action. (See Exhs. 1 and 2).1 AMS has previously accused Crane’s optical vend
`
`sensor-equipped vending machines of infringing the ‘402 patent and the ‘634 patent in a
`
`currently stayed action – i.e., Northern District of West Virginia, Action No. 3:03-CV-0088 (lead
`
`case). Thus, AMS does not assert those two patents against Crane in this action.
`
`The ‘915 patent and the ‘220 patent issued after Judge Broadwater stayed a related action
`
`between AMS and Crane. In fact, the ‘220 patent just issued on March 11, 2008. Given the
`
`-1-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 4 of 27 PageID #: 401Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 5 of 28 PageID #: 4134
`
`timing of their recent issue dates, the Examiner handling these applications had the opportunity
`
`to consider the alleged prior art cited by Crane in the lead case, including the prior art at issue in
`
`the pending reexaminations, and the presumption of validity accorded issued patents is thus even
`
`stronger.
`
`Through the present motion, AMS seeks to enjoin Crane from infringing these two
`
`patents by selling its new Fusion and UltraFlex vending machines, both of which are equipped
`
`with an optical vend detection system known as the Golden-Eye. Crane unveiled its
`
`Fusion/UltraFlex vendors at the Spring 2008 NAMA show, and has only recently begun shipping
`
`those products to its distributors. (Affidavit of Sharon Shull filed herewith (“Shull Affidavit”), ¶
`
`15). The Fusion and UltraFlex machines differ in that one is branded under the GPL name and
`
`the other is branded under the AP name. (See Exh. 3). The product features of the
`
`Fusion/UltraFlex product make clear that Crane developed this product to compete directly – in
`
`terms of both appearance and function – with AMS’ Sensit® product. Indeed, AMS understands
`
`that Crane refers to the Fusion/UltraFlex vendors internally as its “AMS killer.”
`
`Significantly, Crane’s Fusion/UltraFlex products include the optical vend detection
`
`system developed by AP and marketed by that company under the Golden-Eye name. The
`
`Golden-Eye optical vend detection system was at issue in the 2002 patent infringement case
`
`AMS brought against AP and its sister company, Gross-Given Manufacturing Co. The vending
`
`machines equipped with the Golden-Eye system were found to infringe “one or more claims of
`
`
`1 Unless indicated otherwise, all exhibits to this motion are attached to the Declaration of
`Donald L. Jackson in Support of AMS’s Motion for Preliminary Injunction filed herewith
`(“Jackson Decl.”).
`
`-2-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 5 of 27 PageID #: 402Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 6 of 28 PageID #: 4135
`
`the ‘402 patent.” (See Exh. 4).2 The use of the previously adjudicated Golden-Eye optical vend
`
`sensor system amplifies the strength of AMS’ already strong showing of likelihood of success on
`
`the merits, and provides additional grounds upon which to issue the requested preliminary
`
`injunction.
`
`II.
`
`BACKGROUND FACTS
`
`A.
`
`AMS Developed Its Place in the Market Through Product Innovation
`
`AMS, located in Kearneysville, West Virginia, was created in late-1996 to build a better
`
`vending machine. AMS’ founder, Mr. Roy Steeley, understood that the vending machine market
`
`was competitive and that Crane and AP were well-established in that market. Both companies
`
`had a large, loyal customer base, and both had established nationwide distribution channels.
`
`(See Affidavit of Roy Steeley filed herewith (“Steeley Affidavit”), ¶ 1). Mr. Steeley understood
`
`that to break into this market, establish itself, and gain significant market share, AMS must
`
`provide a better product solution than what was then on the market. (Id.).
`
`Accordingly, Mr. Steeley set out to develop a vending machine that performed two
`
`functions not found in glass front vending machines of that era. (Id. at ¶ 2). First, he wanted to
`
`produce a vending machine which would guarantee that a customer got a product or got their
`
`money back. (Id.). In order to do that, the vending machine needed a way to detect whether a
`
`product had been delivered to the customer and new control circuitry for the vending machine
`
`control unit. According to the new idea, if no vend was detected within a certain period of time,
`
`the customer was given a credit allowing them to make another selection or take a refund. A
`
`
`2 On September 27, 2002, AMS sued Automated Products International Ltd. and Gross-
`Given accusing them of infringing the ‘402 patent. That litigation, filed in the U.S. District
`Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, Civil Action No. 3:02-CV-82, settled with
`AP/Gross-Given taking a license under that patent.
`
`-3-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 6 of 27 PageID #: 403Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 7 of 28 PageID #: 4136
`
`vending machine having the optical vend detection system developed for AMS is the subject of
`
`the four patents and the details of that system are discussed below.3
`
`Mr. Steeley also sought to change the glass front vending machine industry in a second
`
`important way. During the summer months, vending machine operators were unable to place
`
`top-selling chocolate snacks in glass front vendors. The temperatures experienced inside the
`
`vending machine caused the chocolate to melt. (Id. at ¶ 4). The problem was even more acute in
`
`the hotter, southern climates. As a result, vending machine operators opted against stocking
`
`their machines with chocolate products. Those products, however, were among the best selling
`
`snack products, and the loss of those products denied customers the chocolate snacks they
`
`wanted, and decreased the vending machine operator’s profits. (Id.).
`
`AMS decided that it would manufacture a vending machine with a new design. That
`
`machine would have the ability to stock chocolate snacks even in the hot summer months
`
`without dramatically increasing the cost of operation. (Id. at ¶ 5). To do so, AMS engineered a
`
`special shell-within-a-shell cabinet, and injected foam between the two shells to provide efficient
`
`insulation. (Id.). AMS’ design also minimized air leaks and improved thermal efficiencies with
`
`a thicker front panel to accommodate a multi-pane glass panel that insulated and reduced water
`
`condensation on the glass. (Id. at ¶ 6). AMS also placed an energy efficient refrigeration unit in
`
`each of these vending machines. The resulting product, called Sensit® (referring to the patented
`
`vend sensing technology), was introduced at a tradeshow in May 1998 and became an immediate
`
`commercial success. (Id. at ¶ 6; Shull Affidavit, ¶¶, 3, 7-9).
`
`
`3 In this case, the ‘915 patent and the ‘220 patent are asserted against Crane. The other
`two patents (i.e., the ‘402 patent and the ‘634 patent) are asserted against Crane in the stayed
`case. All four patents are asserted against Seaga in this action.
`
`-4-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 7 of 27 PageID #: 404Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 8 of 28 PageID #: 4137
`
`Despite its relatively small size, the combination of features found in the Sensit® made
`
`AMS the market leader in sensor-equipped, chilled, glass front vending machines. Every
`
`Sensit® machine is equipped with the patented optical vend sensor system and, in 2007, two-
`
`thirds of all Sensit® machines were equipped with the refrigeration unit. (Shull Affidavit, ¶
`
`12).4 In other words, this combination of features proved very popular.
`
`1.
`
`AMS’ Patented Technology
`
`The patents-in-suit describe and claim innovative ways for a vending machine to
`
`guarantee customer satisfaction, either by delivering the product purchased or by returning the
`
`customer’s money. This result was achieved by equipping vending machines with an optical
`
`vend detection system that created a light detection zone that substantially spanned a cross-
`
`section of the space through which vended products fell (called the “vend space”). If no vend
`
`was detected by the optical vend detector, then the patented vending machine either made a
`
`further vend attempt or returned the customer’s money.
`
`AMS makes no claim to having invented the first glass-front vending machine. Nor does
`
`AMS claim to have developed the first system for determining when a vend operation has
`
`vended a product. Both concepts were known in the art long before the present inventors even
`
`looked at the issue. What the AMS inventors developed was an optical sensor system which
`
`uses light that substantially spans the cross-section of the vend space to detect when a product
`
`has dropped through the vend space into the retrieval bin. The AMS optical vend detection
`
`
`4 Vending machines without refrigeration units are called “ambient” machines. (Shull
`Affidavit, ¶¶ 12-13). The majority of Crane’s sales have been ambient vending machines.
`Crane’s sales of ambient machines make it the market leader of those machines and, since its
`acquisition of AP, Crane is believed to have approximately 70% to 80% of the glass front vendor
`market in the United States, with an even higher percentage of the “ambient” market. (Shull
`Affidavit, ¶ 13).
`
`-5-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 8 of 27 PageID #: 405Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 9 of 28 PageID #: 4138
`
`system also re-calibrates itself to account for ambient light conditions (see, e.g., Exh. 1, claim 35
`
`of the ‘915 patent), and uses at least two light emitters and a plurality of light detectors to detect
`
`the light emitted by each of the at least two light emitters. (See, e.g., Exh. 2, claim 28 of the
`
`‘220 patent). AMS’ inventors were the first to use these constructions, and it is through the use
`
`of this system that AMS’ patented products are able to reliably guarantee product delivery
`
`without interfering with the vending machine’s operation.
`
`Regardless of their style or make, vending machines have long suffered an inability to
`
`guarantee delivery of a product. Vending machines were notorious for taking customer’s money,
`
`but delivering no product. Numerous malfunctions can contribute to a vending machine’s failure
`
`to deliver product. These malfunctions include: (1) products catching on the spirals that advance
`
`product from the display tray into the vend space through which the product drops, (2) spirals
`
`that do not turn, or fail to turn enough, to deliver the product into the vend space, and (3)
`
`products hanging up in the machine on the way to the retrieval bin. In every case, irrespective of
`
`the cause of the failure, the customer paid for a product that the vending machine did not deliver.
`
`Because vending machines are almost universally unattended, the inability to guarantee
`
`product delivery has long been a problem for the industry. Among other things, vending
`
`machine customers are tempted to “encourage” product delivery by hitting the vending machine
`
`or rocking it until the product drops. This self-help process has caused damage to vending
`
`machines. The inability of vending machines to either ensure a product delivery or to refund the
`
`customer’s money has caused other problems as well. Vending machine operators, the owners
`
`who place and service vending machines locally, often found notes affixed to their machines
`
`with messages requesting a refund. Those messages had the effect of deterring others from using
`
`that vending machine.
`
`-6-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 9 of 27 PageID #: 406Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 10 of 28 PageID #: 4139
`
`Prior to AMS’ work in the field, several vending machine manufacturers had attempted
`
`to solve these problems but had met with limited success. The vending machines developed by
`
`these companies generally fell into three categories. In the first category, a sensor was placed
`
`where the products were stored (see Exh. 5), or in the product delivery bin to determine when a
`
`product had come to rest in that bin. Neither approach was successful. Thieves could outwit the
`
`storage bin detectors by, for example, opening the delivery bin door so as to prevent the products
`
`from falling into the delivery bin. Moreover, to the extent that these delivery bin sensors relied
`
`upon an impact, weight, or vibration, these systems were ill-suited to vending relatively light
`
`weight snack products such as a bag of potato chips.
`
`In the second category of products, sensors were placed on opposite sides of a necked
`
`chute. (See Exh. 6). With these products, one or more product delivery chutes were used to
`
`channel the product being vended through a narrow, necked area where the “delivery path”
`
`sensor system was placed. Id.
`
`But with these chute systems, the products being vended could easily lodge within the
`
`chute, blocking product delivery. In addition, and depending on the angle of the chute, and the
`
`weight of the package being vended, it was also possible for relatively light products, such as a
`
`package of potato chips, to come to rest on the inclined walls of the chute itself, and stay there.
`
`On top of these problems, the delivery chutes themselves occupied valuable space within the
`
`vending machine, rendering that space unavailable for product storage or display.
`
`The third category of sensor-equipped vending machines, such as those manufactured by
`
`Crane, placed a sensor in the retrieval bin area. In that product, an elevator was used to lower
`
`the selected product to retrieval bin. (See Exh. 7, column 4, lines 45-46). The light sensor
`
`system used in that machine activated after the elevator came to rest at the delivery station or
`
`-7-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 10 of 27 PageID #: 407Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 11 of 28 PageID #: 4140
`
`“bin.” If a product was detected at that station, the retrieval bin door lock was released so as to
`
`allow customer access to the product and retrieval.
`
`With the elevator system, the vending machine required both belt conveyors and an
`
`elevator to deliver the product selected to the delivery bin. These components increased the cost
`
`of each vending machine and generated undesirable maintenance and repair costs. It was also
`
`possible for products to become hung up on the conveyor or in the elevator so as to actually
`
`cause an additional product delivery problem – the very thing that AMS’s inventors designed a
`
`sensor system to avoid.
`
`2.
`
`AMS’ Inventions
`
`The systems described above represented the state of the art in the vending machine
`
`industry in the mid-1990’s. Given the drawbacks associated with these systems, most snack
`
`vending machines sold in 1996 had no product delivery sensor at all. (Shull Affidavit ¶ 7).
`
`AMS’s goal was to create an optical vend sensor that could reliably detect when a
`
`product had passed through the vend space into the retrieval bin without impeding product
`
`delivery without requiring the installation of a high cost/high maintenance product elevator. In
`
`essence, while the prior art channeled product to the sensor, the AMS inventors created a vend
`
`sensor adapted to the glass-front vending machine environment. They accomplished that result
`
`with an optical sensor system that uses light that substantially spans the cross-section of the vend
`
`space to detect when a product has dropped through that vend space. AMS’ inventors also
`
`disclosed and claimed specific ways of creating a light curtain, and ways of calibrating the vend
`
`sensor to account for different lighting environments. The specific combination of features
`
`claimed is described in the attached infringement claim charts. (See Declaration of Joseph C.
`
`McAlexander filed herewith (“McAlexander Decl.”), Appendices A-B). Those claim charts
`
`-8-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 11 of 27 PageID #: 408Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 12 of 28 PageID #: 4141
`
`establish literal correspondence between each of the claim elements and features of the accused
`
`products, called literal infringement.
`
`B.
`
`AMS’ Invention Became the Industry Standard
`
`By late-2001, about three years after AMS first introduced its new vend sensor
`
`technology to the market, AMS’ competitors followed AMS’ lead and introduced their own
`
`versions of that same technology. Since 2001, Automated Products International, Ltd., its sister
`
`company Gross-Given Manufacturing Co. (both of Minnesota), U-Select-It Corp., its sister
`
`company Fawn Engineering Corp. (both of Iowa), and defendant Crane all incorporated AMS’
`
`sensor technology in their vendors. All but Crane took licenses under AMS’ patents. (Shull
`
`Affidavit at ¶¶ 4-6).5
`
`
`
`Five other companies, including defendant Seaga, also took a license under these patents.
`
`(Id.).6 All five of these companies approached AMS to take a license before they introduced the
`
`vend sensor feature in their products, and AMS granted the requested license only after Crane,
`
`AP and USI had blunted AMS’ explosive growth rate by introducing their own infringing
`
`version of that technology in 2001. (Id. at ¶ 5 (the first license was granted in March 2003)).
`
`
`
`In 1999, AMS’ sales jumped 294 % over its 1998 sales, and in 2000, AMS’ sales jumped
`
`another 60%. (Shull Affidavit ¶ 7). In 2001, the year in which Crane, AP and USI all added the
`
`optical sensor feature to their vendors, AMS sales rate increase slowed to just 1.2% more than
`
`the prior year. (Id.). Since that time, AMS has not experienced the kind of sale growth it
`
`
`5 On February 10, 2004 AMS sued U-Select-It and Fawn Engineering Corp. accusing
`them of infringing the ‘402 patent (and later the ‘634 patent). That litigation, also filed in
`Northern District of West Virginia, Civil Action No. 3:04-CV-007, settled with USI/Fawn taking
`a license under those patents and agreeing to a Consent Judgment. (See Exh. 8).
`6 Seaga is a defendant in this action because it refused to pay royalties owed under its
`license agreement with AMS.
`
`-9-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 12 of 27 PageID #: 409Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 13 of 28 PageID #: 4142
`
`experienced in 1999 and 2000. (Id.). Having stopped AMS’ expansion into what it considered
`
`its own market by incorporating AMS’ patented sensor technology into its vendors, Crane’s new
`
`goal is to remove AMS from that market entirely by introducing a new product line that further
`
`erodes AMS’ ability to distinguish its product from that of its much bigger competitor, Crane.
`
`C.
`
`Crane Recently Introduced Its “AMS Killer”
`
`In June 2006, Crane announced that it was acquiring the assets of AP (and those of its
`
`sister company Gross-Given). (See Exh. 9). One of the assets Crane acquired was a product AP
`
`was in the process of developing under license to compete with AMS’s Sensit® vending
`
`machine line. (See Declaration of Colin Garner filed herewith (“Garner Decl.”), ¶ 6)). AP began
`
`the design process for this new machine by patterning it after AMS’ patented Sensit® vendors.
`
`(Id.). AP decided that the new product would have an optical vend detection system, would be
`
`designed as a low-temperature (“low-temp”) vendor, would be sold at the Sensit® product’s
`
`price point, and would be of a similar, basic design. (Id).
`
`While AP had a lot of experience making and selling ambient temperature vending
`
`machines, including those having an infringing optical vend detection system, AP’s experience
`
`with low-temp glass front snack vending machines was limited. (See id., ¶ 7). AP had created a
`
`low-temp prototype vendor by retrofitting existing vendor models with insulation and a
`
`refrigeration unit. That retrofitted prototype, however, proved inadequate in several respects.
`
`
`
`Because AP’s vending machines were not designed as low-temp machines at the outset, it
`
`was difficult to install effective insulation. (See id., ¶ 8). Among other things, warm and
`
`relatively moist outside air infiltrated into the vending machine. This air leakage made it
`
`difficult to hold temperatures and do so cost-effectively. (Id.).
`
`-10-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 13 of 27 PageID #: 410Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 14 of 28 PageID #: 4143
`
`In 2006, Crane acquired this product development as part of its acquisition of AP’s
`
`assets. (Id. at ¶ 3). In bringing this development to market as the Fusion and UltraFlex products
`
`in early 2008, Crane held true to AP’s design direction. Just like the AMS Sensit® vendor,
`
`Crane equipped the Fusion and UltraFlex products with an optical vend detection system and a
`
`fully insulated cabinet for its refrigeration unit. (Id. at ¶ 9). Indeed, the Fusion and UltraFlex
`
`products use the AP Golden-Eye optical vend detection system that was installed in the AP
`
`products already found to infringe AMS’ ‘402 patent. (See Exh. 4; see also Exhs.10 and 11).
`
`Having practiced AMS’ patented optical sensor technology for years, Crane now focuses
`
`customer attention on the cooling features of its new products by boasting about the
`
`effectiveness and cost advantages associated with its refrigeration unit and thermal insulation.
`
`(See Exh. 12).
`
`In addition, Crane’s Fusion/UltraFlex products and AMS’ Sensit® products have a
`
`similar visual appearance and share a common price point. (See Shull Affidavit, ¶¶ 15-17). A
`
`visual comparison of the two products demonstrates the remarkable similarities in overall design.
`
`(Compare Exh. 13 (photo of a first generation AMS Sensit) with Exh. 14 (photo of UltraFlex
`
`vendor)). Among other things, Crane substantially increased the depth of the vendor door,
`
`moved the location of the T-bar handle (which is used to open and close the door) from the right
`
`side of the machine to the left side of the machine, just as AMS has been doing it for years.
`
`(Shull Affidavit, ¶ 17). Crane also added a fifth leg to the vendor, a design feature found in even
`
`the first AMS product. (Id. at ¶ 16). In short, it appears obvious that Crane is further targeting
`
`AMS and is attempting to increase its market share by incorporating more features from AMS’
`
`design into the new Fusion/UltraFlex products. Given this combination of features, it is easy to
`
`see why Crane internally dubbed the new Fusion/UltraFlex products its “AMS killer.”
`
`-11-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 14 of 27 PageID #: 411Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 15 of 28 PageID #: 4144
`
`Further compounding the problem, and heightening the competition between AMS and
`
`Crane, is Crane’s 2006 acquisition of AP’s “extensive distribution network.” (See Exh. 9).
`
`According to Crane’s Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings, Crane acquired,
`
`among other things, “APi’s [i.e., Automatic Products’] extensive distribution network, product
`
`line designs and trade names, manufacturing equipment and aftermarket parts business.” (See
`
`Exh. 15, p. 11). By combining its own dealer network with those of AP, Crane (through its GPL
`
`brand) is now present in many of the same showrooms through which AMS sells its vendors.
`
`(Shull Affidavit, ¶ 20, Tab A). As further proof of its decision to target AMS, Crane chose to
`
`limit this product offering to the GPL and AP product lines, which, like AMS, are sold through
`
`independent distributors. Crane is not selling this product under its National brand, which sells
`
`directly to customers.
`
`The testimony of Mr. Len Beckring demonstrates AMS’ vulnerability to Crane’s newest
`
`tactics. Crane deposed Mr. Beckring, an AMS dealer, in an effort to demonstrate AMS’
`
`“minimum contacts” with the State of Missouri where Crane had filed a Declaratory Judgment
`
`action against AMS. Mr. Beckring credited Mr. Steeley’s introduction of the vend sensor as a
`
`“key event” in the industry, that others in the industry “reproduced” (see Exh. 16, Beckring Tr.
`
`63), and identified himself as a distributor of both Crane (GPL) and AMS products. (Id. at 12).
`
`With regard to a customer to whom he sold AMS Sensit® vendors, Mr. Beckring testified:
`
`A. The third [customer] I had been selling equipment to but not AMS
`machines, but we found a niche for a machine that AMS produces. He
`still doesn’t buy all AMS equipment.
`
`
`Q. [By Crane lawyer Mr. Nielsen] I understand.
`
`A. He’s a big Crane [GPL brand] customer.
`
`
`* * * * *
`
`
`-12-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 15 of 27 PageID #: 412Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 16 of 28 PageID #: 4145
`
`Q. You said you found a niche. What was the niche?
`
`A. A piece of equipment that AMS makes that Crane makes something
`similar, but it doesn’t do the job.
`
`
`Q. Why does it do the job?
`
`A. It [the AMS vendor] does what it has to do.
`
`Q. I’m sorry?
`
`A. It does what it has to do. It stays cold. The product is a chilled snack
`machine.
`
`
`
`* * * * *
`
`A. A chilled snack machine in the industry has been something that takes
`the temperature 10 to 15 degrees below ambient, and it you’re in a
`hundred degree warehouse and you’re 10 degrees or 15 degrees – even
`if you reach 20 degrees, and the chocolate bars in the machine melt at
`77 degrees, so everybody’s chilled snack for an extra thousand bucks
`is not worth a thousand bucks. AMS got a product that you can set the
`temperature, and it will hold the temperature inside this insulated
`container, insulated box. It will hold the temperature. You set it
`anywhere between 50 and 75 degrees. You can control the
`temperature inside the box. When I explained that to Wendell
`Jackson, he said how much is yours? Well, it’s not an extra thousand
`bucks, so we won the business –
`
`
`(Exh. 16, Beckring Tr. at 30-32). Crane’s new Fusion/UltraFlex products are directed to that
`
`specific niche – a fully insulated glass front vendor that keeps the inside cold while still
`
`incorporating the infringing vend sensor system. The combination of these two features is
`
`central to Crane’s plan to eliminate AMS from the market, and the requested injunction is a
`
`limited and appropriate way to prevent Crane’s plan from becoming reality.
`
`-13-
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:08-cv-00097-JPB-JES Document 19 Filed 07/29/08 Page 16 of 27 PageID #: 413Case 1:23-cv-00089-TSK Document 100-1 Filed 02/14/24 Page 17 of 28 PageID #: 4146
`
`III. ARGUMENT
`
`A.
`
`Legal Standards for a Preliminary Injunction
`
`A court should issue a preliminary injunction against further patent infringement if the
`
`movant establishes four factors: “(1) a reasonable likelihood of its success o

This document is available on Docket Alarm but you must sign up to view it.


Or .

Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.

After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.

Accept $ Charge
throbber

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.

throbber

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.

Become a Member

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

We are redirecting you
to a mobile optimized page.





Document Unreadable or Corrupt

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket

We are unable to display this document.

Refresh this Document
Go to the Docket