Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co. (315 F. Supp. 3d 977, 2018)

Harry D. Leinenweber, Judge

Plaintiff Chamberlain Group, Inc. ("Chamberlain") won a jury verdict against Defendants Techtronic Industries Co., Ltd., Techtronic Industries North America, Inc., One World Technologies, Inc., OWT Industries, Inc., Et Technology (WUXI) Co. Ltd., and Ryobi Technologies (collectively, "TTI"), in which the jury found that TTI willfully infringed two of Chamberlain's patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 7,224,275 ("the '275 patent") and 7,635,966 ("the '966 patent"). Both parties have filed post-trial motions. This opinion presumes familiarity with the case's background, as described in this Court's previous rulings. (See, e.g. , Dkt. 104 (preliminary injunction opinion); Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., No. 16 C 6097, 2017 WL 368027 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 23, 2017) (contempt opinion); Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., No. 16 C 6097, 2017 WL 1304559 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 7, 2017) (claim construction opinion); Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., No. 16 C 6097, 2017 WL 3205772 (N.D. Ill. June 28, 2017) (order denying motion to transfer venue).)

I. TTI's Renewed Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law

The Court "should render judgment as a matter of law when a party has been fully heard on an issue and there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to find for that party on that issue." Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., 530 U.S. 133, 149, 120 S.Ct. 2097, 147 L.Ed.2d 105 (2000) (quoting FED. R. CIV. P. 50(a) ). This is a stringent standard under which the Court "construe[s] the facts strictly in favor of the party that prevailed at trial." Schandelmeier-Bartels v. Chi. Park Dist., 634 F.3d 372, 376 (7th Cir. 2011) (citations omitted). On a motion for JMOL, "the court does not make credibility determinations or weigh the evidence," id. , though the Court must "disregard all evidence favorable to the moving party that the jury is not required to believe." Reeves, 530 U.S. at 151, 120 S.Ct. 2097. The court leaves the jury's factual findings "undisturbed as long as they are supported by substantial evidence," i.e., "such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Cable & Wireless Internet Servs., Inc., 344 F.3d 1186, 1192 (Fed. Cir. 2003) (quoting Consol. Edison Co. v. NLRB, 305 U.S. 197, 229, 59 S.Ct. 206, 83 L.Ed. 126 (1938) ).

In its renewed Motion for JMOL, TTI argues it is entitled to judgment because: (1) the asserted '275 patent claims are directed to ineligible subject matter under Alice Corp. Pty. v. CLS Bank Int'l, --- U.S. ----, 134 S.Ct. 2347, 189 L.Ed.2d 296 (2014) ; (2) the '275 patent was anticipated or rendered obvious by prior art; (3) TTI's products do not literally infringe the '275 patent ; (4) the doctrine of equivalents does not apply here, and the jury should not have considered it; (5) TTI does not induce infringement of the '275 patent, (6) TTI does not willfully infringe the '275 patent ; (7) the '966 patent was anticipated or rendered obvious by prior art; (8) TTI does not literally infringe the '966 patent ; (9) TTI does not induce infringement of the '966 patent ; (10) TTI does not willfully infringe the '966 patent ; and (11) Chamberlain failed to prove damages. The Court takes each argument in turn.

A. Ineligibility of Asserted '275 Patent Claims

Anyone who "invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof" may obtain a patent. 35 U.S.C. § 101. But because patent protection does not extend to claims that monopolize the "building blocks of human ingenuity," claims directed to laws of nature, natural phenomena, and abstract ideas are not patent eligible. Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2354. The Supreme Court instructs courts to distinguish between those claims directed to patent-ineligible subject matter and those that "integrate the building blocks into something more." Id. To do so, courts follow the two-step Alice framework. Id. First, a court must "determine whether the claims at issue are directed to a patent-ineligible concept." Id. at 2355. If they are not so directed, the claims satisfy § 101, and the inquiry ends. Visual Memory LLC v. NVIDIA Corp., 867 F.3d 1253, 1262 (Fed. Cir. 2017). But if the claims are so directed, the court proceeds to step two and "examine[s] the elements of the claim to determine whether it contains an 'inventive concept' sufficient to 'transform' the claimed abstract idea into a patent-eligible application." Core Wireless Licensing S.A.R.L. v. LG Elecs., Inc., 880 F.3d 1356, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2018) (quoting Mayo Collaborative Servs. v. Prometheus Labs., Inc., 566 U.S. 66, 72, 79, 132 S.Ct. 1289, 182 L.Ed.2d 321 (2012) ).

To begin the Alice analysis, the court must "articulate what the claims are directed to with enough specificity to ensure the step one inquiry is meaningful." Id. (quoting Thales Visionix Inc. v. United States, 850 F.3d 1343, 1347 (Fed. Cir. 2017) ). Further, "claims are considered in their entirety to ascertain whether their character as a whole is directed to excluded subject matter." Internet Patents Corp. v. Active Network, Inc., 790 F.3d 1343, 1346 (Fed. Cir. 2015). The court "look[s] to whether the claims... focus on a specific means or method that improves the relevant technology or are instead directed to a result or effect that itself is the abstract idea and merely invoke generic processes and machinery." Smart Sys. Innovations, LLC v. Chi. Transit Auth., 873 F.3d 1364, 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (quoting McRO, Inc. v. Bandai Namco Games Am. Inc., 837 F.3d 1299, 1313 (Fed. Cir. 2016) ).

Here, TTI claims that wireless transmission of content is an abstract idea, and that the asserted '275 patent claims are directed to nothing more. First off, the cases TTI cites in support of this proposition do not hold that wireless transmission is an abstract idea. Affinity Labs of Tex., LLC v. DIRECTV, LLC, 838 F.3d 1253, 1258 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (holding that the concept of providing out-of-region access to regional broadcast content is an abstract idea), cert. denied sub nom. Affinity Labs of Tex., LLC v. DIRECTTV, LLC, --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1596, 197 L.Ed.2d 736 (2017) ; Affinity Labs of Tex., LLC v. Amazon.com Inc., 838 F.3d 1266, 1271-72 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (holding that the concept of delivering user-selected media content to portable devices is an abstract idea), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 1596, 197 L.Ed.2d 708 (2017). And second, the Federal Circuit has warned against the dangers of over-abstraction, Core Wireless, 880 F.3d at 1361 ("[W]e must be mindful that 'all inventions at some level embody, use, reflect, rest upon, or apply laws of nature, natural phenomena, or abstract ideas.' " (quoting Mayo, 566 U.S. at 71, 132 S.Ct. 1289 ) ), and disapproved of parties' efforts to render abstract objects that are not, id. at 1362 ("The asserted claims in this case are directed to an improved user interface for computing devices, not to the abstract idea of an index, as argued by LG on appeal."). Here, the '275 patent claims are not directed to the transmission of data, but "to garage door openers that wirelessly transmit status information." The Chamberlain Grp., Inc. v. Techtronic Indus. Co., 676 Fed.Appx. 980, 982 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (appeal from this Court's initial claim construction). Having identified what the '275 patent claims are directed to, the Court must now determine whether this object is an abstract idea.

"The Supreme Court has not established a definitive rule to determine what constitutes an 'abstract idea' sufficient to satisfy the first step of the [ Alice ] inquiry," and as such the appropriate analysis "compare[s] claims at issue to those claims already found to be directed to an abstract idea in previous cases."

Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 822 F.3d 1327, 1334 (Fed. Cir. 2016). Post- Alice decisions have found ineligible: paying for mass transit rides with a credit card, Smart Sys. Innovations, LLC v. Chi. Transit Auth., 873 F.3d 1364, 1371 (Fed. Cir. 2017) ; "the abstract idea of testing operators of any kind of moving equipment for any kind of physical or mental impairment," Vehicle Intelligence & Safety LLC v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 635 Fed.Appx. 914, 917 (Fed. Cir. 2015) ; the "abstract idea for increasing sales implemented via 'some unspecified, generic computer,' " DDR Holdings, LLC v. Hotels.com, L.P., 773 F.3d 1245, 1266 (Fed. Cir. 2014) ; creating a "transaction performance guaranty" over an unspecified network, buySAFE, Inc. v. Google, Inc., 765 F.3d 1350, 1355 (Fed. Cir. 2014) ; "offering media content in exchange for viewing an advertisement," Ultramercial, Inc. v. Hulu, LLC, 772 F.3d 709, 715-16 (Fed. Cir. 2014) ; the abstract idea of a conversion chart, Tech. Dev. & Licensing, LLC v. Comcast Corp., 258 F. Supp. 3d 884, 887 (N.D. Ill. 2017) ; and the routine and conventional activity of making and storing lists on a microprocessor, Tech. Dev. &, Licensing, LLC v. Gen. Instrument Corp., 225 F. Supp. 3d 729, 735 (N.D. Ill. 2016).

Chamberlain, of course, argues the '275 patent claims are not directed to abstract ideas as in the cases above and should pass muster under § 101. In doing so, Chamberlain relies in large part on Chamberlain Group, Inc. v. Linear LLC, 114 F.Supp.3d 614 (N.D. Ill. 2015). In Linear, Chamberlain claimed the defendant infringed its GDO patents (though not the patents asserted here), and the defendant moved to dismiss on the grounds that the claims were not directed to patent-eligible subject matter. Id. at 621. The court described the relevant patent claims as directed to "opening and closing a movable barrier, (e.g., garage door) using a computer network for communication between the monitor or operator (including a controller), and movable barrier," id. at 626, and held this to be eligible subject matter in part because the claims "ha[d] physical and tangible components that are directed to more than performance of an abstract idea," id. at 625. The court also held that the asserted claims were directed to a technological improvement because they integrated a GDO and a network. Id. at 626-27.

Both of these rationales have met with disagreement, however. First, another court in this district observed that Linear did not benefit from the guidance of the Federal Circuit's later decision in Vehicle Intelligence & Safety LLC v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, 635 Fed.Appx. 914, 920 (Fed. Cir. 2015), which demonstrated that "the mere presence of a 'real-world, physical' purpose, such as controlling equipment, does not show that the claims do not preempt an abstract idea." Joao Control & Monitoring Sys., LLC v. Telular Corp., 173 F.Supp.3d 717, 729 (N.D. Ill. 2016) (characterizing Vehicle Intelligence ). Second, an out-of-circuit district court opined that "[t]he alleged technological improvement in [ Linear ] amounts to nothing more than operating an existing device from a remote location over a network," which cannot suffice for a "technological improvement." ChargePoint, Inc. v. SemaConnect, Inc., No. CV 17 3717, 2018 WL 1471685, at *11 (D. Md. Mar. 23, 2018).

Neither of these critiques compels the Court to find patent-ineligible subject matter, however. The Vehicle Intelligence decision does not cite Linear nor express any opinion on it. And TTI itself points out that Linear "involved a different Chamberlain patent...that solved a different problem and recited limitations different from those in the claims asserted here." (TTI's Reply in Supp. of Summary Judgment at 1, Dkt. 546.) Unlike Joao's characterization of the claims in Linear, the claims asserted here are not directed to an abstract idea that merely happens to make use of physical equipment. And as for the Chargepoint critique, the technological improvements of the asserted '275 patent claims are not limited to the introduction of network connectivity. Rather, the asserted '275 claims are directed to a particular improvement over prior art which uses a particular manner of sending and experiencing data. This particularity distinction matters. In Core Wireless, the Federal Circuit affirmed the district court's patent-eligibility finding for claims directed to "an improved user interface for computing devices." 880 F.3d at 1362. The court explained: "Although the generic idea of summarizing information certainly existed prior to the invention, these claims are directed to a particular manner of summarizing and presenting information in electronic devices." Id. at 1362 (emphasis added). Concerning this "particular manner," the court noted that the claims stated specific limitations which "disclose[d] a specific manner of displaying a limited set of information to the user, rather than using conventional user interface methods to display a generic index on a computer.... [T]hese claims recite a specific improvement over prior systems." Id. at 1363. Indeed, the Federal Circuit has repeatedly found claims directed to patent-eligible subject matter when those claims "focused on various improvements of systems." Id. at 1362 ; see, e.g., Enfish, LLC v. Microsoft Corp., 822 F.3d 1327, 1336, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (claims reciting a self-referential table for a computer database directed to a particular improvement in the computer's functionality); Thales Visionix Inc. v. United States, 850 F.3d 1343, 1345, 1349 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (claims reciting an improved method of utilizing particularly configured sensors to determine position and orientation of an object on a moving platform, which relied on a particular method of utilizing raw data which eliminated complications inherent in conventional methods); Visual Memory LLC v. NVIDIA Corp., 867 F.3d 1253, 1258-59 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (claims reciting programmable operational characteristics that provided flexibility not possessed by the prior art).

Thus, the Federal Circuit's case law suggests that particular and unconventional improvements to prior art are § 101-eligible. Such guideposts protect against overbroad patents preempting "the use of the underlying [abstract] ideas." See, Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2354 ; Accenture Global Servs., GmbH v. Guidewire Software, Inc., 728 F.3d 1336, 1341 (Fed. Cir. 2013) (expressing in pre- Alice opinion that "[i]n the case of abstractness, the court must determine whether the claim poses any risk of preempting an abstract idea.") (citation and internal quotation omitted); accord Joao, 173 F.Supp.3d at 728 (expressing same).

Chamberlain's '256 patent claims recite such particular and unconventional improvements. The moveable barrier operator ("MBO," often used interchangeably in the briefing with garage door opener, or "GDO") taught by the '275 patent does not merely receive transmissions, as did MBOs in the prior art; instead, Chamberlain's MBO experiences-via an onboard controller-status conditions and then transmits them to other devices. This improvement eliminated the need for a "physical interface...to support numerous potentially utilized peripheral devices," thus cutting out "undesired additional cost when part of the [otherwise, necessarily installed] interface goes unused in a given installation." ( '275 Patent 1:55-63, Dkt. 1-2).) In addition, the improvements taught by the '275 patent brought new compatibility to the MBO; the prior art, by contrast, "fail[ed] to permit compatible support of a given peripheral," and precluded users from coupling their prior-art MBO with a new function "not specifically supported by a given [MBO]." (Id. at 2:4-16.)

Thus, contrary to TTI's assertions, the '275 patent claims are unlike the ones in Vehicle Intelligence, which merely specified the abstract idea of testing operators of moving equipment for impairment and indicated that such testing could be conducted more quickly, accurately, and reliably by using an "expert system" that the claims failed to define. Vehicle Intelligence, 635 Fed.Appx. at 917. Rather, the '275 patent claims better fit the mold in Visual Memory LLC v. NVIDIA Corp., 867 F.3d 1253, 1259 (Fed. Cir. 2017), where the Federal Circuit held claims patent-eligible which were directed to an improved computer memory system with programmable operational characteristics, which "provided flexibility that prior art processors did not possess, and obviated the need to design a separate memory system for each type of processor." Core Wireless , 880 F.3d at 1362 (characterizing the findings in Visual Memory ) (emphasis added). The '275 patent provides exactly this enhanced flexibility, which transcends prior art conventions. Finally, the particularity of the claims-specifically, that the controller must experience the status conditions-diminishes the preemption concerns that undergird the Alice inquiry. 134 S.Ct. at 2354.

The asserted claims are directed to patent-eligible subject matter under § 101, so the Alice analysis ends before we reach step two. Elec. Power Grp., LLC v. Alstom S.A., 830 F.3d 1350, 1353 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (citing Alice, 134 S.Ct. at 2355 ). TTI's JMOL Motion on § 101 ineligibility is denied.

B. Invalidity of the '275 Patent

1. Anticipation

Under 35 U.S.C. § 102, a patent is invalid if a prior art reference discloses, either explicitly or inherently, every limitation of the claimed invention. Liebel-Flarsheim Co. v. Medrad, Inc., 481 F.3d 1371, 1381 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (citation omitted). Judgment as a matter of law is appropriate if no reasonable jury could find, as the one here did, that the prior art did not anticipate, and thus invalidate, the patent. See, Krippelz v. Ford Motor Co., 667 F.3d 1261, 1268 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (applying Seventh Circuit JMOL standard). As it argued at trial, TTI contends that the Menard PCT prior art anticipated claims 1, 5, and 15 of the '275 patent.

These claims recite:

1. A movable barrier operator comprising:

a controller having a plurality of potential operational status conditions defined, at least in part, by a plurality of operating states;

a movable barrier interface that is operably coupled to the controller;

a wireless status condition data transmitter that is operably coupled to the controller, wherein the wireless status condition data transmitter transmits a status condition signal that: corresponds to a present operational status condition defined, at least in part, by at least two operating states from the plurality of operating states; and

comprises an identifier that is at least relatively unique to the movable barrier operator, such that the status condition signal substantially uniquely identifies the movable barrier operator.

5. The movable barrier operator of claim 1 wherein the plurality of operating states includes at least one of:

moving a movable barrier in a first direction;

moving the movable barrier in a second direction;

reversing movement of the movable barrier;

halting movement of the movable barrier;

detecting a likely presence of an obstacle to movement of the movable barrier;

detecting a likely proximal presence of a human;

receiving a wireless remote control signal;

receiving a wireline remote control signal;

receiving a learning mode initiation signal;

a lighting status change;

a vacation mode status change; detecting a likely proximal presence of a vehicle;

detecting the identification of a proximal vehicle; and

receiving an operating parameter alteration signal.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein detecting at least one predetermined condition includes detecting at least one of:

moving a movable barrier in a first direction;

moving the movable barrier in a second direction

reversing movement of the movable barrier;

halting movement of the movable barrier;

detecting a likely presence of an obstacle to movement of the movable barrier;

detecting a likely proximal presence of a human;

receiving a wireless remote control signal;

receiving a wireline remote control signal;

receiving a learning mode initiation signal;

a lighting status change;

a vacation mode status change;

detecting a likely proximal presence of a vehicle; and

receiving an operating parameter alternation signal.

( '275 Patent 8:5-21, 8:30-46, 9:39-55, Dkt. 1-2.) Claim 1 identifies a movable barrier operator comprising both a controller and a transmitter. (Id. at 8:5-21.) But TTI did not present any evidence that the Menard GDO 1000-as opposed to an add-on module to that GDO-contained a controller or wireless transmitter. Indeed, Chamberlain's technical expert, Dr. Rhyne, presented evidence showing that the Menard GDO 1000 and the system 10000 (the aforementioned module) each have their own, separate controllers and power supplies. (Id. 1297:16-1299:8.) In response to this, TTI emphasizes that the Chamberlain claims do not require the controller to be housed in the GDO's head unit. (See, Chamberlain's Resp. to JMOL Mot. at 9, Dkt. 651 (Chamberlain admitting its asserted claims do not require "the controller, the movable barrier interface, and the wireless status condition transmitter to be located in a single housing.").) But Chamberlain explains that the key limitation in its claims is not whether the controller and transmitter share a housing, but instead whether they are part of the GDO at all, instead of-as in Menard's system 10000-part of a separate module that can send signals to the GDO. Chamberlain presented evidence of this distinction through Dr. Rhyne's testimony:

A: [T]he...Menard module...has a separate module that you add on top of the garage door and, as a result, the controller in the module is what sends out the state signal, not the controller in the GDO.

...

Q: Dr. Rhyne, you were asked a couple questions about whether the Menard module, that modular system we discussed, system 10000, can send control signals to the GDO 1000. In your opinion, is that-does that make the module in Menard a movable barrier operator under the Court's constructions?

A: No. It's not the movable barrier operator in Figure 37. That movable barrier operator is the GDO 1000 down in the bottom. The top guy is not a movable barrier operator.

Q: And can a smartphone also send control signals to open and close a door on a garage door opener?

A: Yes.

Q: And is a smartphone a movable barrier operator?

A: Not in that sense, no, any more than the pushbutton switch, the 6500 is a movable barrier operator.

(Rhyne Tr. 1310:18-21, 1374:9-22.) This is substantial evidence that Chamberlain's asserted claim 1 claims limitations not present in the prior art, so JMOL is not appropriate as to TTI's anticipation argument as to claim 1.

As for claims 5 and 15, Chamberlain contends that JMOL is not appropriate because both claims recite a limitation that is not disclosed in the Menard prior art. Specifically, claim 5 depends from claim 1's recitation of "a controller having a plurality of potential operational status conditions defined, at least in part, by a plurality of operating states," and claim 15 depends from claim 14's recitation of "a movable barrier operator detecting at least one predetermined condition as corresponds to a present operational status defined, at least in part, by at least two operating states[.]" (See, Rhyne Tr. 1309:21-22; Foley Tr. 871:5-8 (both citations describing dependent relationships of claims).) In contrast, the Menard prior art does not explain how its signals are defined:

Q. Do [Dr. Foley's slides concerning the Menard prior art] show a condition defined by a plurality of states as claimed?

A. They show things that the Menard module can report like whether the door is open, closed, or partially closing, freezing, normal, overheating on the temperature of the unit, but it doesn't-there's no disclosure of how those things are defined, and there are other ways to do it than having states that would define those conditions.

Q. Can you provide us one example?

A. A good one would be door position. You can report the number of times the motor has turned, so the rotations. And every rotation incrementally pulls the door up or, if it's going the other way, it lets it down a little bit. And then you can leave it up to the receiver at the other end to decide how many rotations is it going to take to get the door open, how many is it going to take to get the door to close. And if it sees the rotations coming at a different speed, it knows that it's partially closing. Those are not reporting specific states in the message itself.

(Rhyne Tr. 1307:16-1308:9.) Simply put, the jury heard substantial evidence that while the Menard PCT status conditions could be defined in a number of ways, Chamberlain's '275 claims limit its status conditions to one type of definition. Because that limitation appears only in the asserted claims, the Menard prior art does not anticipate them. See, Liebel-Flarsheim Co., 481 F.3d at 1381.

2. Obviousness

TTI also contends that the Cohen prior art renders the asserted claims obvious. Under 35 U.S.C. § 103, "[o]bviousness is a question of law based on underlying findings of fact." Wyers v. Master Lock Co., 616 F.3d 1231, 1237 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). The underlying factual inquiries include: (1) the scope and content of the prior art, (2) the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue, (3) the level of ordinary skill in the art, and (4) any relevant secondary considerations, such as commercial success, long felt but unsolved needs, and the failure of others. Id. (citing Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 17-18, 86 S.Ct. 684, 15 L.Ed.2d 545 (1966) ).

TTI contends that a person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to combine the Menard PCT door-position prior art discussed earlier with the Cohen prior art, which TTI maintains teaches the signal format recited in the '275 patent. But at trial, Chamberlain presented evidence showing that the Cohen prior art does not claim sending status conditions defined by two or more states. (Rhyne Tr. 1312:3-9 ("All [the Cohen reference] does is it talks about a state signal that indicates in a way that is not described that the door is opening, closing, opening, or closing. And as I said, there are certainly ways to do it that doesn't involve sending a state-a status condition signal that gives you two states as, for example, that rotational information as an alternative.").) Further, Dr. Rhyne explained that just like the Menard prior art, the Cohen reference teaches an add-on modular device, meaning that once again a controller in the module sends out the signal-not the controller in the GDO itself. (Rhyne Tr. 1310:11-21.) Because, according to Dr. Rhyne's testimony, this combination does not teach the limitations of the '275 patent claims, the jury heard substantial evidence supporting a finding of nonobviousness. See, Hearing Components, Inc. v. Shure Inc., 600 F.3d 1357, 1374 (Fed. Cir. 2010), abrogated on other grounds by Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., --- U.S. ----, 134 S.Ct. 2120, 189 L.Ed.2d 37 (2014).

C. Literal Infringement of the '275 Patent

This argument is nothing new. TTI moved for pre-trial summary judgment of non-infringement of the '275 patent, and the Court denied that motion. (June 21, 2017, Order, Dkt. 397.) TTI posits once more that the Ryobi signal does not "correspond[ ] to a present operational status condition defined, at least in part, by at least two from the two or more operational conditions being experienced by the controller," as recited in claims 1 and 24. Chamberlain, 2017 WL 1304559 (emphasis added). According to TTI, this is so because the Ryobi controller cannot simultaneously experience two operational conditions given that-in TTI's reading-such conditions are mutually exclusive, e.g., "[t]he controller cannot simultaneously be experiencing door open, closed, opening, closing, or fault." (Mem. in Supp. at 18, Dkt. 618.) But as the Court has already noted, this contention misses the mark: "[M]any (if not all) GDO components contain multiple potential but mutually exclusive positions or states, making it unclear how a transmitter as [TTI] conceive[s] [is recited by the '275 patent ] would even be operative." (June 21, 2017, Order at 4, Dkt. 397.) In short, TTI's renewed argument depends upon a narrow reading of "operational status condition" which does not square with this Court's earlier construction of the term as encompassing status conditions of other categories of information the controller may experience (for example, light on/off, vacation mode on, etc. ). (See, id. at 5-6 ("[a present] status condition [may] be defined (or determined, or its meaning clarified) by multiple operational conditions being experienced by the controller (for example, lights on in tandem with, as a result of, or in response to the garage door's opening, a sensor's detection of a proximal vehicle, or a user's flipping the vacation mode switch).").)

Claim 1 recites a transmitter that transmits "a status condition signal that: corresponds to a present operational status condition defined, at least in part, by at least two operating states from the plurality of operating states..." ( '275 Patent 8:13-17, Dkt. 1-2.) At trial, Chamberlain's evidence demonstrated that the Ryobi GDOs (both the GD200 and the revised, GD200A) do exactly that. Dr. Rhyne explained that in both versions of the Ryobi GDO, the device "send[s] a signal corresponding to a present operational status condition." (Rhyne Tr. 288:4-5.) Such a signal (for example, "light on") is defined both by the status condition it carries and the potential, but not present, condition(s) it necessarily precludes (in this example, "light off"). (See, June 21, 2017, Order at 4, Dkt. 397 (indicating that Court's Markman order did not limit the operational conditions that are "experienced by the controller and capable of defining its operational status condition(s)" to only potential or to only present status conditions).) Dr. Rhyne explained as much to the jury:

[N]otice this light state [in the Ryobi electronic system architecture and design specifications]. This is the status condition on the light, and it's got two states. Remember, we had to have a plurality of states, two or more: Off and on. This is the status condition for the door. It's got five states: Closed, open, closing, opening, or a fault....[Y]ou can see here are those five states that are available. So I've got a status for the door defined by five possible states, the same words [as in the '275 patent ].

(Rhyne Tr. 275:15-20, 277:14-17.) Chamberlain presented the jury with substantial evidence that accorded with the Court's claim constructions showing that the device taught by the '275 patent and the Ryobi GDOs send signals defined in the same way. A reasonable jury hearing this testimony could find literal infringement, so the Court will not grant TTI's JMOL and vacate that finding.

D. Doctrine of Equivalents Infringement of the '275 Patent

"The doctrine of equivalents allows the patentee to claim those insubstantial alterations that were not captured in drafting the original patent claim but which could be created through trivial changes." AquaTex Indus., Inc. v. Techniche Sols., 419 F.3d 1374, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (quoting Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722, 733, 122 S.Ct. 1831, 152 L.Ed.2d 944 (2002) ). Here, TTI marshals two arguments against the jury's finding that TTI infringed the '275 patent under the doctrine of equivalents. First, TTI contends that because Chamberlain narrowed its claims during prosecution, it is estopped from arguing the doctrine of equivalents. Second, TTI argues that even if Chamberlain is not so estopped, Chamberlain nevertheless failed to present the jury with substantial evidence on the equivalents theory. Neither argument is persuasive.

1. Prosecution History Estoppel

We have seen TTI's first argument before, in rebuttal to Chamberlain's pretrial motion to enforce the Court's preliminary injunction. (Dkt. 228 at 10-11.) Once more, the argument runs like this: Under Festo Corp. v. Shoketsu Kinzoku Kogyo Kabushiki Co., 535 U.S. 722, 736, 740, 122 S.Ct. 1831, 152 L.Ed.2d 944 (2002), once a patent applicant narrows his application via amendment and thus relinquishes subject matter, the applicant cannot later rely on the doctrine of equivalents to claim infringement by a device that falls between the broader and the narrower language, unless the applicant can show the amendment does not surrender the particular equivalent. See, Festo, 535 U.S. at 740, 122 S.Ct. 1831 ; accord Salazar v. Procter & Gamble Co., 414 F.3d 1342, 1344 (Fed. Cir. 2005) ("The doctrine of prosecution history estoppel serves to limit the doctrine of equivalents when an applicant makes a narrowing amendment for purposes of patentability, or clearly and unmistakably surrenders subject matter by arguments made to an examiner."). According to TTI, Chamberlain interjected such a limitation during the prosecution of '275 patent to overcome the Examiner's initial rejection of independent claim 1 based on the Doyle reference. The Court previously summarized the pertinent prosecution history as follows:

In the relevant amendment and remarks, the Applicant traversed Doyle by citing to Figure 2 of the Doyle and its associated text, which disclose a mercury switch oriented within a radio frequency ("RF") transmitter where the mercury bead only causes transmission of the RF signal when the garage door is in an intermediate position . The Application contrasted this facet of Doyle, in which the transmitted RF signal is keyed to a single position or state of Doyle's garage door , with its amended claims, which "require a wireless status condition data transmitter to transmit a status condition signal that corresponds to a present operational status condition defined, at least in part, by at least two operating states from the plurality of operating states."

Chamberlain, 2017 WL 368027, at *5 (citing File History, App. No. 10/477,633, June 15, 2005, Amendment at 12 (emphasis in original) ). Thus, "Doyle could only ever be defined by one operating state: a single intermediate position of a garage door, as opposed to the dual operating states of open/closed." (Id. at 14-15.)

The problem with TTI's argument is that even if Chamberlain's prosecution amendments narrowed the '275 patent, TTI's Ryobi GD200A does not fall "between the broader and the narrower language." Festo, 535 U.S. at 740, 122 S.Ct. 1831. As discussed above, Dr. Rhyne explained that both the Ryobi and Chamberlain GDOs use status conditions defined by a plurality of states (e.g., two states-on and off-define the status condition of the light; five states-closed, open, closing, opening, and fault- define the status of the door, etc. ). (See, Rhyne Tr. 275:15-20, 277:14-17.) TTI now makes much of another part of Dr. Rhyne's testimony, which TTI takes as proof that Dr. Rhyne later reversed his position and agreed that the Ryobi status conditions are defined by only one state at a time. However, TTI's selection of that testimony leaves out Dr. Rhyne's clarification and is not representative. The full selection is this:

Q: So I asked you this question [in your deposition], Dr. Rhyne. "So if we're talking about the present operational status condition," present operational status condition, "of the door, at any point in time, it is only defined by one of the states that the door can be in, correct?" And you asked me, "One of the operating states?" I said, "Correct." And your answer was, "Yes," correct?

A: I interpreted what you asked me to mean as I did the previous one, what's in that transmitted status condition that's sent out by the data transmitter. There's always only one in the message. There's not two.

Q: That's right, because the signal is defined by the one state that the door can be in, as your answer said here, correct?

A: When you transmit the present operational status condition, you transmit only one of the states.

Q: And that's what defines that signal, correct?

A. At that time, you send out that one.

(Rhyne Tr. 354:4-22.) As Dr. Rhyne's clarification makes clear, he did not opine that the Ryobi devices operated based on status conditions defined at a given time by only one state; rather, Dr. Rhyne simply described the signal format of the GD200A device, which sends several discrete pings of data seriatim rather than sending a single batch, as does the pre-revision GD200. To the extent Chamberlain narrowed its claims during prosecution, TTI has not shown that its Ryobi GDOs fall between the broader and narrower language. See, Festo, 535 U.S. at 740, 122 S.Ct. 1831 (holding that applicants only surrender equivalents falling between the broader and narrower, post-amendment language). As such, TTI has failed to show that prosecution estoppel should have precluded Chamberlain from presenting its equivalents theory to the jury.

2. Substantial Evidence of Equivalents

Next, TTI argues that Chamberlain failed to present the jury with substantial evidence on the doctrine of equivalents theory. Such evidence must establish "equivalency on a limitation-by-limitation basis by particularized testimony and linking argument as to the insubstantiality of the differences between the claimed invention and the accused device or process." Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc. v. Dow Chem. Co., 811 F.3d 1334, 1342 (Fed. Cir. 2016) (internal quotations omitted) (quoting Tex. Instruments Inc. v. Cypress Semiconductor Corp., 90 F.3d 1558, 1566 (Fed. Cir. 1996) ).

Here, TTI argues that Chamberlain failed generally to provide evidence showing equivalents for claims 5 and 14 and failed specifically to provide equivalency evidence of the unique identifier limitation required in claims 1 and 14. These assertions do not accurately describe the evidence presented as trial. Dr. Rhyne clearly articulated the basis for his belief concerning equivalency for claim 1. (Rhyne Tr. 267:16-296:9 (concluding with "[w]e have [now discussed every element of claim 1], and I've explained why in my opinion each and every element is met either literally under the way I think the claim ought to be interpreted or under the doctrine of equivalents under the way TTI thinks it should be interpreted.").) Claim 5 incorporates all of the limitations of claim 1, which Dr. Rhyne explained at trial: "[Claim 5] basically is what's called a dependent claim. So it starts out by saying 'the movable barrier operator of Claim 1.' So to infringe claim 5, you've got to meet all the limitations of claim 1." (Rhyne Tr. 296:13-16.) At trial, then, Chamberlain needed to present evidence of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents for all limitations of claim 1-which, as discussed, it did-as well as for the limitation unique to claim 5. That remaining limitation concerns the '275 patent's reliance on a "plurality of operating states [that] includes at least one of" any of the fourteen listed states, including, for example, "moving a movable barrier in a first direction; moving the movable barrier in a second direction;...halting movement of the movable barrier;...receiving a wireless remote control signal;...[and] a lighting status change." ( '275 Patent 8:30-36, Dkt. 1-2.) There was no shortage of evidence at trial concerning the Ryobi GDO's equivalent use of a "plurality of operating states." (See, e.g., Rhyne Tr. 275:15-20 (reciting operating states in Ryobi GDO, including light states and door position states), 354:4-22 (discussing plurality of operating states in Ryobi GDO).)

As to claim 14: Dr. Rhyne testified that claim 15 depends from claim 14. He also testified that the Ryobi devices infringe on all of the elements in claim 14, including the two elements that do not also appear in claim 1. (Rhyne Tr. 298:23-299:24.)

TTI's final argument-that Chamberlain failed to present evidence concerning the unique identifier limitation required in claims 1 and 14-similarly ignores testimony and thus fails. (Rhyne Tr. 294:15-295:3 (explaining the unique identifier recited in claim 1 and describing a similar unique identifier employed by the Ryobi devices).) In sum, TTI's characterizations of the evidence produced at trial are not accurate. Through Dr. Rhyne, Chamberlain produced substantial evidence in support of its doctrine of equivalents theory on a limitation-by-limitation basis. See, Akzo Nobel, 811 F.3d at 1342. TTI's JMOL Motion on this ground is denied.

E. TTI Induces Infringement of the '275 Patent

TTI has no argument here. "Inducement can be found where there is '[e]vidence of active steps taken to encourage direct infringement,' which can in turn be found in 'advertising an infringing use or instructing how to engage in an infringing use.' " Takeda Pharm. U.S.A., Inc. v. W.-Ward Pharm. Corp., 785 F.3d 625, 630-31 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (quoting Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 545 U.S. 913, 936, 125 S.Ct. 2764, 162 L.Ed.2d 781 (2005) ). "Such instructions need to evidence 'intent to encourage infringement.' " Id. (quoting Vita-Mix Corp. v. Basic Holding, Inc., 581 F.3d 1317, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2009) ). Dr. Rhyne testified about advertising language appearing on the Ryobi website and Ryobi's GDO packaging that showcases the capability to "[m]ake your garage smart. Control, monitor, and personalize your garage door remotely." (Rhyne Tr. 306:12-307:24.) And the jury found that the Ryobi devices infringe the '275 patent. A reasonable jury having made that determination could further find that Ryobi's advertisements encouraging users to deploy Ryobi GDOs for an infringing use constitute inducement. TTI's JMOL Motion is denied on this ground.

F. Willful Infringement of the '275 Patent

The Court will not overturn the jury's finding that TTI willfully infringed the '275 patent. As set forth in greater detail below, the jury heard evidence that TTI knew before it developed the Ryobi GD200 that: (1) Chamberlain had a broad GDO-related patent portfolio, (2) as such, development in the GDO space would be hazardous, and (3) the '275 patent existed and covered Chamberlain's GDO. (See, infra at Part IV.) TTI's repeated assertion that its engineers who deconstructed the Chamberlain GDO "did not see" the '275 patent marking on the device is at this point feckless. (Mem. in Supp. of JMOL at 26, Dkt. 618.) The jury heard this, too, and apparently found it incredible or at least not exculpating in light of the many other ways TTI was put on notice of the '275 patent and the general dangers of possibly treading on Chamberlain's GDO IP. (See, infra at Part IV.) TTI's JMOL Motion is denied as to the jury's willfulness determination.

G. Invalidity of '966 Patent Based on Prior Art

1. Craftsman Prior Art-Anticipation

At trial, the parties' experts debated whether a Craftsman GDO in prior art anticipated the '966 patent. Through related testimony, the jury heard substantial evidence of a limitation recited by the '966 claims that is not disclosed by the Craftsman prior art. 35 U.S.C. § 102 ; Liebel-Flarsheim Co., 481 F.3d at 1381 (reciting that patent claims are invalid as anticipated by prior art only if that art discloses every limitation of the claimed invention).

Claim 9 recites:

9. A battery charging apparatus, comprising:

a battery charging station in electrical communication with a rechargeable battery and in electrical communication with a head unit of a barrier movement operator for supplying power to at least one rechargeable battery, the at least one rechargeable battery being removably connectable to electrically powered equipment other than and physically separate or separable from the barrier movement operator to provide power to the electrically powered equipment; and

circuitry electrically connected to the battery charging station to supply power from the at least one rechargeable battery to the head unit.

( '966 Patent 8:8-22, Dkt. 1-1.) Although claim 9 recites a "removably connectable" battery, the Craftsman GDO recites no such limitation. The Court construed "removably connectable" as "configured to allow a user to insert, plug in, or otherwise manually attach and detach." Chamberlain, 2017 WL 1304559, at *24 ; accord Rhyne Tr. 1317:9-12 (reciting same). The Ryobi GDOs have batteries that "just snap[ ] out," but the Craftsman GDO battery is attached by screws to either the top of the GDO or to the ceiling above the GDO. (Rhyne Tr. 1316:17-1318:6.) According to Dr. Rhyne, the Craftsman battery must be screwed in one way or another, because otherwise the battery could fall off the unit when it vibrates while raising or lowering the door. (Id. at 1316:17-21.) In contrast, TTI's technical expert, Dr. Foley, maintained that a user's ability to remove those screws rendered the Craftsman battery removably connectable, but Dr. Rhyne rebutted that interpretation:

I think [that in explaining his position as to why the Craftsman battery is removable connectable, Dr. Foley] said, 'Well, I could go up there and undo the screws or something.' That certainly isn't something that the typical garage door user-think about it for yourself. Are you going to go up there, back your car out, get up on a ladder, and go up and unscrew it just so you can move it to another garage door, maybe if you have a two-car garage, especially when that other door already has a battery bolted on top of it to start with. That's just not-that's not a reasonable interpretation of the claim.

(Rhyne Tr. 1317:16-24.) The jury apparently credited Dr. Rhyne's interpretation, which the Court agrees provided substantial evidence from which the jury reasonably could have concluded that the Craftsman prior art did not anticipate the '966 patent. See, Akamai Techs., Inc. v. Cable & Wireless Internet Servs., Inc., 344 F.3d 1186, 1192 (Fed. Cir. 2003).

But there is more. There is another limitation in claim 9 which the parties debate at length. That claim discloses a battery removably connectable "to electrically powered equipment other than and physically separate or separable from the barrier movement operator." ( '966 Patent 8:15-17, Dkt. 1-1.) At trial, Dr. Foley opined that the other electrically powered equipment disclosed here could be a second GDO, and that such an arrangement is possible under the Craftsman prior art. Dr. Rhyne disagreed, and relied on the specification for his conclusion that the other equipment cannot simply be a second GDO, and thus the '966 patent discloses a limitation not present in Craftsman. (Rhyne Tr. 1315:10-1316:11.) "[W]hen there is conflicting testimony at trial, and the evidence overall does not make only one finding on the point reasonable, the jury is permitted to make credibility determinations and believe the witness it considers more trustworthy." MobileMedia Ideas, LLC v. Apple Inc., 780 F.3d 1159, 1168 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (citation omitted). The evidence did not make only one of the witnesses' interpretations reasonable, so the Court will not disturb the jury's finding that Craftsman did not anticipate the '966 patent.

2. Crusius Prior Art-Anticipation and Obviousness

Parallel problems doom TTI's JMOL Motion concerning the Crusius prior art. As with Craftsman, TTI maintains that Crusius anticipates the '966 patent. But Dr. Rhyne testified that Crusius does not invalidate any of the '966 claims because the Crusius patent "covers essentially the same thing as the Craftsman battery." (Rhyne Tr. 1324:7-19.) He added that the Crusius patent does not disclose a "removably connectable" battery nor any separate equipment that could be powered by the battery. (Id. ) Dr. Foley contradicted this latter finding in much the same way as he did Dr. Rhyne's opinions on Craftsman, that is, by explaining that the Crusius battery could be plugged into a second GDO and thereby satisfy the "powered equipment other than and physically separate or separable from" limitation. Again, Dr. Rhyne explained that the '966 specification required "separate" equipment other than a second GDO, and the jury was entitled to credit his interpretation over Dr. Foley's competing one. MobileMedia Ideas, 780 F.3d at 1168.

As for obviousness, TTI does not articulate any justification for its belief that no reasonable jury could have failed to find that the Crusius prior art renders obvious the asserted claims. And to any extent, Chamberlain points out that Dr. Rhyne testified regarding secondary considerations of nonobviousness which the jury may, and apparently did, choose to credit. See, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. v. Maersk Drilling USA, Inc., 699 F.3d 1340, 1349 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (considering commercial success, industry praise, unexpected results, copying, industry skepticism, licensing, and long-felt but unsolved need in the court's analysis of secondary indicia of nonobviousness). Specifically, Dr. Rhyne described an internal patent disclosure filled out by TTI employees describing an idea similar to the '966 patent claims:

Q: Okay. And then the last topic for you, Dr. Rhyne, secondary considerations with respect to the '966 patent. Have you seen any secondary considerations to show that the '966 claims are not obvious?

A: Yes.

...

[Introducing the internal patent disclosure]

...

A. [Reading from the disclosure:] "Our idea is to power the garage door opener from one or more removable battery packs such as a power tool battery....Another facet of this invention is the ability to potentially charge the battery packs while inserted into the garage door." They're saying they thought that this was something, evidence of a long-felt need. Unfortunately, it was. It's just that the need had already been met by Chamberlain.

Q. Exactly. And just for clarity, this is a form by TTI that was filled out, I guess, before or after the '966 patent ?

A. After.

(Rhyne Tr. 1324:20-1326:2 (emphasis added).) According to Dr. Rhyne, TTI's internal patent disclosure demonstrated an industry-perceived, long-felt need for a GDO using a removably connectable, rechargeable battery, which is exactly what the '966 patent teaches. Chamberlain thus presented the jury with a nexus between the evidence and the merits of the claimed invention as required for the jury to accord these secondary considerations of nonobviousness substantial weight. FastShip, LLC v. United States, 131 Fed.Cl. 592, 620 (2017) (quoting Wyers v. Master Lock Co., 616 F.3d 1231, 1246 (Fed. Cir. 2010) ).

In sum, because the jury heard substantial evidence that the Crusius prior art neither anticipated nor rendered obvious the '966 patent claims, TTI has no basis for JMOL relief stemming from Crusius.

3. Weik Prior Art-Anticipation and Obviousness

TTI's contentions concerning the Weik prior art ultimately meet with the same outcome as the other prior art arguments considered above. The Weik patent teaches a motor-operated door, and discloses "two different embodiments, one of which has a portable battery and no charger and one of which has a non-portable battery but does have a charger." (Rhyne Tr. 1322:2-1323:3.) TTI does not argue that either embodiment, on its own, anticipates or renders obvious the '966 patent. Instead, TTI argues these problems arise for the '966 patent once the two Weik embodiments are combined. Neither of these arguments meets the high bar required to merit JMOL.

First, to obviousness: "Combining two embodiments disclosed adjacent to each other in a prior art patent does not require a leap of inventiveness"; accordingly, such combinations can render an asserted patent obvious. Boston Sci. Scimed, Inc. v. Cordis Corp., 554 F.3d 982, 991 (Fed. Cir. 2009). However, "[o]bviousness may be defeated if the prior art indicates that the invention would not have worked for its intended purpose or otherwise teaches away from the invention." Meiresonne v. Google, Inc. , 849 F.3d 1379, 1382 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (citing DePuy Spine, Inc. v. Medtronic Sofamor Danek, Inc., 567 F.3d 1314, 1326 (Fed. Cir. 2009) ). "A reference teaches away 'when a person of ordinary skill, upon reading the reference, would be discouraged from following the path set out in the reference, or would be led in a direction divergent from the path that was taken' in the claim." Id. (quoting Galderma Labs., L.P. v. Tolmar, Inc., 737 F.3d 731, 738 (Fed. Cir. 2013) ). Dr. Rhyne explained at trial that the Weik patent teaches away from combining the two embodiments: The integrated charger embodiment offers the benefit of not requiring service personnel to bring a rechargeable battery with them when they service the motor-operated door taught by Weik, and, further, if service personnel brought a rechargeable battery to such a door, the trickle charger-which is designed to keep the plugged-in battery always charged-would take "a couple of hours" to charge the newly installed battery. (Rhyne 1321:23-1324:6.) Dr. Foley expressed a competing opinion, noting that the Weik patent teaches that "there are many ways to interconnect various electrical elements to achieve the functions [of the Weik invention]," which Dr. Foley took as "teaching...to take the trickle charger from [the integrated embodiment] and drop it [into the non-integrated embodiment]." (Foley Tr. 940:20-941:4.) But once more, because Dr. Foley's is not the only reasonable interpretation on this point, the Court will not overrule the jury's apparent credit for Dr. Rhyne's testimony over his counterpart's. MobileMedia Ideas, 780 F.3d at 1168.

Next, to anticipation: TTI correctly points out in its reply that whether prior art "teaches away" from combinations is only a part of the obviousness analysis and "is not relevant to an anticipation analysis." Krippelz v. Ford Motor Co., 667 F.3d 1261, 1269 (Fed. Cir. 2012) (citation omitted) (emphasis added). As such, Dr. Rhyne's testimony concerning the Weik patent's teaching away from combining its embodiments cannot be substantial evidence against anticipation. Given this, TTI suggests that combining the embodiments covers every limitation in the '966 patent, and so the Weik combination anticipates, and thus invalidates, the patent. TTI's argument is faulty. Though combinations of adjacently disclosed embodiments may be considered under the obviousness analysis, the same is not true for anticipation. See , Microsoft Corp. v. Biscotti, Inc. , 878 F.3d 1052, 1069 (Fed. Cir. 2017) (citations omitted) ("[A]nticipation is not proven by 'multiple, distinct teachings that the artisan might somehow combine to achieve the claimed invention.' "). TTI suggests that Dr. Foley testified that "it is appropriate to use elements from the two figures in his anticipation analysis." (Resp. at 36, Dkt. 618 (citing Foley Tr. 940:3-15, 1023:18-19).) If this was Dr. Foley's method, it was improper as a matter of law. And because Dr. Foley conceded that no one Weik embodiment anticipates all of claim 9's limitations, the jury was entitled to find that the Weik patent did not anticipate that claim. (See, Foley Tr. 1023:14-19 ("Q: [Y]ou couldn't get all the elements of the claim here from one of the embodiments, you needed to mix and match from the two embodiments; is that right? A: I pulled from both as Weik very clearly says modifications are expected.").) TTI's JMOL Motion is denied on these grounds.

H. Literal Infringement of '966 Patent

Dr. Rhyne walked through each element of each of claims 9, 14, and 15-18 of the '966 patent and explained that the Ryobi GDO infringes each one. (Rhyne Tr. 318:11-328:1.) Against this evidentiary backdrop, TTI argues that a reasonable jury still could not find TTI literally infringed because the '966 patent recites "a battery charging station in electrical communication with a rechargeable battery " and "a method of power flow between at least one rechargeable battery, a barrier movement operator, [and] electrically powered equipment other than and physically separate or separable from the barrier movement operator. ( '966 Patent 8:10-11, 40-44, Dkt. 1-1 (emphasis added).) TTI maintains, not for the first time, that because it does not sell the Ryobi GDOs with rechargeable batteries or any other," separate electrical equipment, they cannot be found to have infringed the '966 patent.

While "one may not be held liable under § 271(a) for 'making' or 'selling' less than a complete invention," Rotec Indus., Inc. v. Mitsubishi Corp., 215 F.3d 1246, 1252 (Fed. Cir. 2000), several courts have found that where an alleged infringer sells "all of the elements of the patented combination as a single, albeit disassembled, unit," reasonable juries may find that the defendant sells a complete system and thus infringes. EBS Auto. Servs. v. Ill. Tool Works, Inc., No. 09 CV 996, 2011 WL 4021323, at *8 (S.D. Cal. Sept. 12, 2011) ; see also, St. Clair Intellectual Prop. Consultants, Inc. v. Toshiba Corp., No. CV 09-354, 2014 WL 4253259, at *3 (D. Del. Aug. 27, 2014) (denying defendant's motion for summary judgment on non-infringement where defendant sold "separate components that, if attached together, may infringe the patent"); Immersion Corp. v. Sony Computer Entm't Am., Inc., 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4777, at *16-17 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 10, 2005) (denying JMOL where defendant advertised and sold the accused products as part of a "system," frequently highlighted compatibility between those separately sold elements, and end-users needed only perform "a few simple steps" to connect the elements, even though end-users could use combined system in non-infringing manner if they so chose).

Here, Chamberlain presented evidence that the Ryobi GDOs and the Ryobi battery are configured to fit and operate together, and that both the GDOs' packaging and a video on the Ryobi website suggest coupling the GDO and the battery. (Rhyne Tr. 407:10-408:21.) Dr. Rhyne further testified that "[This is] the way Ryobi advertises. It's part of all of the benefits and features of this system. It's important to have that battery in there to give you backup in case the AC power goes out." (Id. 408:18-21.) In addition, Dr. Rhyne testified that at some point (though no longer) Ryobi gave consumers a free battery when they purchased a GDO. (Id. 328:18-24.) From this testimony, a reasonable jury could conclude that TTI's sale of its GDO and battery comprise a complete system which infringes the '966 patent.

Finally, TTI's argument that Chamberlain failed to produce substantial evidence showing the Ryobi GDOs infringe the limitation in claims 15-18 concerning a method of power flow between a rechargeable battery, a barrier movement operator, and "electrically powered equipment other than and physically separate or separable from the barrier movement operator " fairs no better. Dr. Rhyne testified that the Ryobi system provided power from the battery to other electrically powered equipment such as "drills, saws, and flashlights." (Rhyne Tr. 326:14; accord id. at 327:23-328:1.) TTI's Motion for JMOL on literal infringement of the '966 patent is denied.

I. Induced Infringement of '966 patent

To win a claim for induced infringement, a plaintiff must prove specific intent and action to induce infringement. Cleveland Clinic Found. v. True Health Diagnostics LLC, 859 F.3d 1352, 1364 (Fed. Cir. 2017). TTI points to evidence that approximately eighty percent of Ryobi GDO purchasers do not use rechargeable, Ryobi One+ batteries in conjunction with their GDO, and that "where a product has substantial noninfringing uses, intent to induce infringement cannot be inferred even when the [alleged inducer] has actual knowledge that some users of its product may be infringing the patent." Warner-Lambert Co. v. Apotex Corp. , 316 F.3d 1348, 1365 (Fed. Cir. 2003). However, "liability for active inducement may be found 'where evidence goes beyond a product's characteristics or the knowledge that it may be put to infringing uses, and shows statements or actions directed to promoting infringement.' " AstraZeneca LP v. Apotex, Inc., 633 F.3d 1042, 1059 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (quoting Grokster , 545 U.S. at 93