LEONARD P. STARK, District Judge.
1. On July 6, 2016, TC Heartland, LLC and Heartland Packaging Corporation ("Heartland" or "Defendants") moved for summary judgment of invalidity of U.S. Patent Nos. 8,511,472 (the '"472 patent") and 8,603,557 (the '"557 patent"). (D.I. 321) The parties have fully briefed the motion (see D.I. 322, 355, 387; see also D.I. 419, 420, 421) and the Court heard argument on this and other motions on August 30, 2016. (See D.I. 416 ("Tr."))
2. Summary judgment is appropriate if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and themovant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 585.:86 (1986).
3. According to Heartland, undisputed facts show thatthe '557 patent is invalid because (i) it claims obvious subject matter (under 35 U.S.C. § 103
4.
Heartland relies on KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), and In re Peterson, 315 F.3d 1325 (Fed. Cir. 2003). In Heartland's view, overlap between the prior art and the '557 patent claims establishes "a prima facie case of obviousness" under Peterson. (D.I. 322 at 18 (internal quotation marks omitted)) Kraft contests the applicability ld effect of Heartland's cases and emphasizes that the prior art relied upon by Heartland does not disclose any express or inherent pH limitation. (See D.I. 355 at 5)
The Court concludes that genuine issues of material fact preclude summary judgment of invalidity under § 103. The record reveals disputes regarding at least (i) whether Heartland's prior art references disclose claimed concentrates and containers; (ii) whether a person of skill in the artat the time of the invention of the '557 patent would have had a sufficient reason to select the claimed combinations from the prior art references; (iii) whether such a person would have had a reasonable expectation of success; and (iv) objective indicia ofnonobviousness, including evidence of copying, the commercial success of Kraft's products, and whether "[t]he inventors' finding that artificial flavorings were capable of resisting degradation for several weeks ... at a very low pH" was surprising and unexpected (D.I. 355 at 25). A reasonable factfinder, taking all the evidence iri the light most favorable to one or the other of the parties, could find for either of the parties on each of these issues.
5.
The record reveals a genuine dispute of material fact at least regarding whether the '557 patent's disclosure is sufficiently enabling given the knowledge and understanding of a person of ordinary skill in the art. In addition, Heartland has not shown that the "flavoring" term should be construed as broadly as its argument requires or that it is a functional or means-plus-function term. For at least these reasons, summary judgment under § 112 is inappropriate.
6.
The Court agrees with Kraft that Heartland has not clearly articulated either the type of double-patenting it alleges or how the law applies to the facts of this case. (See Tr. at 26-27 ("[I]t could be characterized as an anticipation defense . . . . This is a statutory double patenting argument. ... It's not obvious-type double patenting. This is a different species of double patenting.")) The statutory restriction on double patenting "only prohibits a second patent on subject matter
7. Heartland's motion for summary judgment as to the '557 patent is
8. Heartland also seeks summary judgment with respect to the '472 patent. Heartland contends that the '472 patent's claims are invalid as obvious combinations of prior art. (See D.I. 322 at 26-29) Kraft responds that (i) Heartland's prior art references do not combine to disclose containers that dispense fluid in the required "jet" (see D.I. 355 at 19-21, 37); (ii) Heartland has failed to show motivation to combine (see D.I. 355 at 38-40); and (iii) Heartland ignores "clear evidence of [its own] copying," which is a "persuasive secondary consideration ofnonobviousness" (D.I. 355 at40). There are genuine disputes of material fact as to both the scope and content of the prior art and whether a person of skill in the art would have had reason to combine Heartland's asserted prior art references to create the claimed invention. For at least these reasons, the Court concludes that a reasonable jury could find in favor of either party on the issue of the '472 patent's validity, so Heartland's motion for summary judgment as to the '472 patent is
9. Finally, Heartland seeks summary judgment with respect to pre-suit damages. Heartland contends that Kraft did not mark its products or otherwise notify Heartland of any alleged infringement prior to filing this action. (See D.I. 322 at 30-32) .Kraft does not contest this part of Heartland's motion. (See Tr. at55) Accordingly, Heartland's motion for summary judgment with respect to pre-suit damages is
In sum, Heartland's motion for summary judgment ofinvalidizy (D.I. 321) is