Secure Axcess, LLC. v. Nintendo of America Inc.

United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

Filed December 2, 2015

Case No. 2015-1971

  

As you may recall from an earlier post, Secure Axcess had filed suit against Nintendo of America alleging infringement of U.S. Patent 6,522,309, entitled “Multiscreen Personal Computer Display Method and Apparatus.” The Western District of Washington entered a judgment of non-infringement in favor of Nintendo.

The ‘309 patent is entitled, “Multiscreen Personal Computer Display Method and Apparatus,” and it relates to a computer with multiple display capability. A user can simultaneously display documents using a singular processed video data signal source, on two or more screens. The '309 teaches a device termed a "translative video adapter", or TVA, which is used on two or more screens to view and edit documents simultaneously. Secure Axcess asserted that the Nintendo DS infringes the ‘309 patent with its dual-screen. As previously reported, the district court found that Nintendo did not infringe based on a claim construction that the TVA had to be a separate device.

Secure Axcess has now filed an appeal with the Federal Circuit requesting the ruling be vacated. Secure Axcess is primarily challenging the claim construction used by the district court. Secure Axcess is arguing that the court improperly interpreted the claims to include limitations that do not appear in the body of the claims, and are otherwise inconsistent with Patent Number 6,522,309, specifically “in holding that 1) the TVA must be a ‘detachable’ device; 2) the TVA does not implement bidirectional communication, and 3) the TVA only supports conversion of ‘analog’ video signals when construing the ‘309 patent claims.” Opening Brief of Plaintiff – Appellant at 3, Nintendo of America v. Secure Axcess, LLC., No. 15-1971 (Fed. Cir. Dec. 2, 2015).

We will keep you updated regarding future developments.

Thanks to Josh Davenport for his assistance in preparing this update.