Citations
- 461 F. Supp. 1354
Full opinion text
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
PERRY, Senior District Judge.
Findings of Fact
1. This matter is before the Court for an accounting of damages to be awarded, pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 284 , to Ellipse Corporation (hereinafter “Ellipse”) by reason of the infringement by Ford Motor Company (“Ford”) of Claim 3 of patent No. 2,628,568, entitled “High Pressure Pump”, issued to Marvin L. Rhine (“the Rhine patent”).
History of the Case
2. This action was commenced on August 2, 1966, Ellipse charging in its complaint that Ford’s two-speed, automatic transmission pump and Ford’s power steering pump (“the F-T pump”) both infringed Claims 1 and 3 of the Rhine patent. Subsequently, Ellipse abandoned the charge against Ford’s transmission pumps. After a trial on the merits, this court held Claims 1 and 3 valid and infringed by Ford’s power steering pump. 312 F.Supp. 646 (1969).
On appeal, the finding of infringement of Claim 1 was set aside, but the court’s judgment as to validity and infringement of Claim 3 was affirmed. 452 F.2d 163 (7th Cir. 1971), reh. denied December 13, 1971; cert. denied, 406 U.S. 948, 92 S.Ct. 2041, 32 L.Ed.2d 337, reh. denied, 409 U.S. 898, 93 S.Ct. 99, 34 L.Ed.2d 157 (1972). Thereafter, the case was remanded to the District Court for an accounting to determine the damages to which Ellipse is entitled.
For the purpose of taking such accounting and determining the damages, the court appointed David J. Shipman, Esq. as a Special Master in Chancery to supervise discovery, take and hear testimony of the parties and to thereafter make a written report to the court on the accounting and a recommendation as to the final amount of money judgment to be included in a final decree.
3. Proceedings before the Special Master commenced with a pretrial conference on June 22, 1972. After more than two years of pretrial proceedings, including a series of discovery depositions attended by the Special Master, the court ordered all discovery to be concluded and trial to commence. Trial started on January 22, 1975. Hearings were held several days each month with periodic recesses of approximately six to eight weeks. Shortly after defendant Ford started presenting its evidence in mid-1976, its trial counsel, George N. Hibben, fell seriously ill and died. Later, when trial resumed, the Special Master became ill and underwent surgery. Ultimately, proofs were declared closed on May 17, 1978.
By an order entered on May 19, 1978, the original order of reference was modified; the court waived the filing by the Special Master of a written report containing his recommendations as to the final amount of the money judgment to be included in a decree and counsel for the parties were directed to submit their briefs and proposed findings directly to the court.
The court has reviewed the entire record of the proceedings before the Special Master, considered the briefs filed by the parties, together with their proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and has had the opportunity to hear oral argument presented by counsel.
The Rhine Patent
4. The Rhine patent discloses a high pressure pump for fluids. It is concerned with the nature and shape of the pump’s stator, its rotor and the blades (or slippers) that are driven along the stator cavity by the rotating rotor. (Finding 16). This combination of a stator, rotor and blades comprises what has been referred to in this proceeding as the pumping element portion of the pump. (Tr. 11285, 12733) Other parts of a complete pump assembly include the shaft, housing, and plates, reservoir and flow control valve. (DAX-113, pp. 24-27, Tr. 11619-21). Claim 3, the only claim found to be infringed, is limited to the pumping element combination, i. e., the stator, rotor and blades.
Claim 3 provides:
“A rotary fluid displacement device comprising a stator having an out-of-round stator cavity, a rotor located therein, said rotor having blade-receiving pockets, a blade received in each of said pockets, each of said blades having contact at all times during the operation with said stator and said rotor, in which the contact between the outer surface of the blade and the inner surface of the stator is area contact to prevent complete rotation of the blade in the pocket but permit it to rock therein with free movement in relation to said pocket, and the contact of a side of the blade with the rotor pocket being along a line which varies in position with respect to the blade and the pocket during operation and which acts as a pivot for the blade, the pivot action tending to keep the outer surface of the blade in said area contact with said stator during all positions of rotation of said rotor.”
The patentable distinction of the pumping element disclosed in Figure 7 of the Rhine patent, and claimed in Claim 3, was described by the Court of Appeals as the special relationship of the slippers to the stator whereby a “mismatching area contact” was achieved. 452 F.2d 163, 170. By its earlier decision this court has determined that the pumping element of the F-T pump does employ such “mismatching area contact”.
The Parties
5. Ellipse was formed in 1945 by Simon Moss and the inventor, Marvin Rhine, to develop and promote the pump that is the subject of the Rhine patent. Ellipse’s business of attempting to make and sell slipper pumps of both balanced and unbalanced design was carried out during 1946-48 (DAX-8-34). The business did not prosper. Neither Mr. Moss nor Mr. Rhine had either the education or the ability to properly organize and operate a manufacturing facility (Finding 6). In all, Ellipse produced a total of approximately 8 to 12 pumps (App. pages 170, 1399).
Unable to commercialize the Rhine pump, Ellipse abandoned its manufacturing operations and sold its equipment in 1948. With the exception of two pumps it sold in 1956 (DAX-7, 35-37), Ellipse has been a dormant shell corporation since 1948. Its sole asset has been the Rhine patent. The inventor, Mr. Rhine, died in 1959. Up to 1966, the stock in Ellipse was distributed among Simon Moss, his brother, Harvey, Marvin Rhine and after Mr. Rhine’s death, his widow, Bess. On January 7, 1966, after Ellipse had decided to sue Ford for infringement of the Rhine patent, Mr. Moss purchased Mrs. Rhine’s Vs interest in Ellipse (represented by 100 shares of stock) for $3,000 (DAX-166). At about the same time Norman Lettvin, plaintiff’s trial counsel, purchased a 25% stock interest in Ellipse and Maurice Rosenfield, another attorney in Chicago associated with Ellipse, purchased a 39% stock interest in Ellipse. As a result of these transactions, the two lawyers obtained a controlling 64% interest in Ellipse. (DAX-182). Since 1966, the two lawyers, together with Mr. Moss, have formed the Board of Directors of Ellipse (DAX-148) and Mr. Rosenfield has controlled Ellipse’s finances. (DAX-183,184). Mr. Lettvin filed this suit and has tried the case in all proceedings in the District Court, the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court; before the Special Master David J. Shipman; and before the District Court thereafter through final argument. He has at all times been in constant contact with Mr. Rosenfield for consultations.
Ford is a well-known marketer of automobiles. Among the various options that Ford offers for use with its automobiles is a power steering system. Commencing with its 1965 model year vehicles, Ford began using the F-T pump in its power steering systems. (Finding 11). That pump was designed by TRW, Inc. (“TRW”). (PAX-137, p. 266). Under an agreement with TRW, Ford’s Transmission and Chassis Division (“T&C”) manufactured approximately 65% of the F-T pumps used by Ford and TRW supplied Ford the remaining 35% of those pumps.
The Relevant Period of Accounting
6. The parties are in disagreement as to the relevant period of accounting. Plaintiff maintains that all of the F -T pumps used by Ford from 1964 (when the 1965 model year vehicles were introduced) up to February 17,1970, the expiration of the Rhine patent, are subject to this accounting. Relying on 35 U.S.C. § 287, defendant contends that it should be required to account only for those F-T pumps it used from August 2,1966, the date this action was filed, up to the expiration of the Rhine patent. The parties have stipulated that Ford used 9,098,945 F-T pumps during the period contended for by plaintiff, and 6,568,203 F-T pumps during the period contended for by defendant.
Relying on DAX-82 and the testimony of Mr. Closser, plaintiff contends there are an additional 482,548 “remanufactured” pumps that should be included in the accounting. This contention is inconsistent with plaintiff’s stipulation on February 22, 1977 that the number of remanufactured pumps is unknown. Nonetheless, the court has reviewed DAX-82 and the testimony of Mr. Closser, but finds no basis for altering the stipulation. Plaintiff was aware of this exhibit and Mr. Closser’s testimony when it entered into the stipulation. The units listed in DAX-82 are defective pumps remanufactured and sold by independent companies, not by Ford. (Tr. 9305-09)
Based on the evidence in this case, it is concluded that Ford’s contention as to the relevant period of accounting is correct. In 1956, Ellipse had two fuel pumps made by an outside engineering firm which it then sold to Ford. (DAX-7, 35-37).
Both Ellipse’s president (App. p. 1453) and its patent counsel (DAX-38) have asserted that those fuel pumps were produced in accordance with the invention in the Rhine patent. However, Ellipse has offered no proof that those pumps were marked with the number of the Rhine patent. Under 35 U.S.C. § 287, the failure of a patent holder to mark its own product with the patent number limits the recovery of damages to the period subsequent to notification of infringement. It is clear that Ford was given no notification prior to the institution of this action on August 2, 1966.
Ellipse did send a notice of infringement to Ford by letter dated December 21, 1962 (DAX-38). The letter did not specify any particular pump believed by Ellipse to be infringing; however, the evidence is clear that the letter was intended to refer to Ford’s two speed automatic transmission pump. (PAX-90-C; Tr. 18704). Plaintiff now concedes that the transmission pump did not infringe the Rhine patent. (Finding 10).
Ellipse contends that under Wine Railway Appliance Co. v. Enterprise Railway Eqt. Co., 297 U.S. 387, 56 S.Ct. 528, 80 L.Ed. 736 (1936), the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 287 do not apply to it since it was not a marketer of pumps. However, the facts are otherwise and Wine Railway is not controlling here. Ellipse did market two pumps which, by its own admission, came under the Rhine patent and it has presented no evidence that it marked them in accordance with the statute.
The evidence also demonstrates that Ellipse had ample opportunity to give Ford notice had it elected to do so. Ellipse purchased an F-T pump in 1965. (Tr. 18803-07). By early January, 1966, the pump had been analyzed and the decision to sue Ford had been made. (Tr. 18810,18811-12). Mr. Moss has testified that at least six lawyers were associated with the company in connection with this suit. (Tr. 18808-09). Yet, neither Ellipse nor any of its lawyers made any effort to notify Ford that the F-T pump was believed to be an infringement. Having withheld such notice, when it plainly could have been given, Ellipse cannot now escape the consequences of its actions. Union Carbide Corp. v. Graver Tank & Mfg. Co., 282 F.2d 653, 676 (7th Cir. 1960). Ford is responsible to account only for the pumps it used from August 2,1966 to February 17, 1970.
The Applicable Measure of Recovery
7. Ellipse has never been a competitor either of Ford or of its supplier, TRW. It asserts no lost sales, lost profits or any other competitive injury as a result of the infringement. Yet, plaintiff contends that its recovery is to be based on the profits Ford realized on its “sale” of F-T pumps as a part of a power steering option. Recognizing that Ford only uses the F-T pump as a part of the power steering system in its car and, hence, there is no identifiable “revenue” or “profit” for the pump, Ellipse has undertaken, by a method of cost ratios, to apportion a profit to the pump. From this apportioned profit, plaintiff deducts an amount which it designates as Ford’s “usual” profit, the remainder or “excess” profit being claimed as a reasonable royalty.
In its post-trial brief, plaintiff sets out four computations, each premised on a theory of profit apportionment. Based on those computations, plaintiff maintains that a reasonable royalty, on a pump worth approximately $10, ranges from $4.76 to $6.51 per pump. Plaintiff has also presented a fifth method of computation in which it apportions profit to the pump and claims 50% of that profit as a reasonable royalty. Under this approach, plaintiff claims a royalty of $3.44 per pump. Plaintiff has in its computations averaged out and proposed that the court should award to plaintiff the amount of $5.79 of Ford’s “profit” on each of the pumps used by Ford and on each of the pumps rebuilt or remanufactured.
In its proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law delivered to the court, Ellipse has also included various computations of “reasonable royalty”. It maintains that all of the F-T pumps used by Ford from 1964 (when the 1965 model year vehicles were introduced) up to February 17, 1970 (the expiration of the Rhine patent) are subject to this accounting. As set forth in the court’s finding 6 herein, the' parties have stipulated that Ford used 9,098,945 F-T pumps during the period as contended for by plaintiff. Plaintiff contends that the “reasonable royalty” it calculates, with apportionment, to determine the “Option” pump revenue results in the amount of reasonable royalty to be awarded Ellipse for Ford’s infringement during the period August, 1964, through February 17, 1970, in an amount of $5.79 per “Option” pump, or a total of $52,682,891 on 9,098,945 pump units, but not including rebuilt cr remanufactured pumps. Plaintiff also contends that Ford induced others to infringe Patent 2,628,568 by remanufacturing infringing pumps in the quantity of 397,548 units and that Ford itself manufactured 85,000 rebuilt or re-manufactured pumps. Ellipse calculates the “reasonable royalty” for Ford’s infringement in connection with the remanufactured pumps, during the period August, 1974, through February 17, 1970, at $2,793,-952. Ellipse seeks judgment against Ford for “reasonable royalty” in the amount of $55,476,843.
In addition, Ellipse claims it should be awarded interest on the “reasonable royalty” amounts it calculates. In its proposed findings and conclusions, Ellipse computes interest year by year at arbitrary rates and arrives at a total of $41,401,257.90. This amount of interest when added to the $55,-476,843 plaintiff seeks as damages for infringement equals a total of $96,878,100.90 that Ellipse seeks from Ford in this case.
Such an award of damages and interest would be a windfall and make multi-millionaires out of the two lawyers and the Moss family for a comparatively small investment. Some estimate of this original investment is shown by the evidence herein. In 1954 Marvin Rhine sold 25 of his shares in Ellipse to H. J. Moss at $40 per share and based on that transaction (as found in finding 21 hereof), Ellipse’s issued stock of 300 shares had a total value of $12,000. As time passed and there was no grant of any licenses, it was reasonable to expect Ellipse’s stock would decline in value; and it appears it did, as on January 7, 1966 Mrs. Bess Rhine Conroy (who had remarried) sold her 100 share interest in Ellipse to S. Moss for $3,000 or $30 a share. (DAX-166, 182). Shortly thereafter, on January 28, 1966, an agreement was entered into between Simon H. Moss, Harvey Moss, Norman Lettvin and Maurice Rosenfield (DAX-184). At the time of the agreement S. H. Moss owned 293 shares and Harvey Moss owned 7 shares of Ellipse and they were the sole stockholders. Under the terms of the agreement S. H. Moss agreed to sell 117 common shares of Ellipse to Norman Lettvin for $1,170, and 14 common shares to Maurice Rosenfield for the sum of $140. Under the agreement, Rosenfield subscribed for 169 common shares and agreed to pay therefor the sum of $75,000 in cash within 90 days after the execution of the agreement. This agreement shows that in January of 1966 Ellipse was proposing to sue either or both of Ford and Chrysler Corporation under the Rhine patent and that Lettvin had been retained to handle and supervise the litigation. As set forth in finding 5, supra, Messrs. Lettvin and Rosenfield had by April 25,1966 a controlling 64% interest in Ellipse. This suit against Ford was filed shortly thereafter on August 2, 1966.
Ellipse now proposes the court enter a $55,476,843 judgment against Ford for reasonable royalty under its profit theory plus $41,401,257.90 in interest, or a total just under $97,000,000. This would be a huge windfall on the stockholder's’ comparatively small investment. It would be grossly unfair under the circumstances of this case to make such an award of damages, plus interest, and grossly unfair to the thousands of stockholders of Ford Motor Company who have invested millions of dollars in the production of automobiles and have contributed to the social and economic development of this nation and the world. Such an award would be inequitable and indefensible both in equity and law under all the circumstances of this case.
In its DAX-157 Ford has shown the effect of patent royalties on the cost of alternative pumps available to Ford in 1963-64. A royalty of $5.79 per pump, as proposed by Ellipse, would have cost Ford almost $6 more than the Saginaw pump which was acceptable to it. TRW quoted Ford a price of $8.39 in 1963-64. Considered as a percentage, a royalty of $5.79 would result in a royalty rate of 69%. Ford paid an average price of $10 for F-T pumps during the period 1965-70. Based on this average price, plaintiff’s proposal represents a royalty rate of 57.9%. The pumping element of the F-T pump (the only portion covered by the Rhine patent) represents a cost of approximately $2.50. As a percentage of that cost, $5.79 represents a royalty rate of 232%. Royalties of this magnitude are clearly unreasonable. Ford, as hereinafter in finding 26 set forth, was during the period 1955-70 paying less than 1% for a reasonable royalty on high volume items to be used in its automobiles.
TKe court has carefully considered plaintiff’s profit theory and contentions but finds they are unsupported by either the applicable law or the facts of this case. Ellipse’s damages, not Ford’s profits, are the proper measure of recovery under 35 U.S.C. § 284. Zegers v. Zegers, Inc., 458 F.2d 726 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 878, 93 S.Ct. 131, 34 L.Ed.2d 132 (1972). The evidence in this case is clear that the only damage Ellipse has suffered is the loss of royalties it would have received if Ford’s use of the F-T pump had been under an appropriate license agreement. The compensation to which Ellipse, therefore, is entitled under 35 U.S.C. § 284 is a reasonable royalty. The approach to be used in determining a reasonable royalty has been stated in Horvath v. McCord Radiator & Mfg. Co., 100 F.2d 326, 335 (6th Cir. 1938), cert. denied, 308 U.S. 581, 60 S.Ct. 171, 84 L.Ed. 529 (1939) in the following terms:
In fixing damages on a royalty basis against an infringer, the sum allowed should be reasonable and that which would be accepted by a prudent licensee who wished to obtain a license but was not so compelled and a prudent patentee, who wished to grant a license but was not so compelled.
In substance, application of that rule, often referred to as the “willing buyer-willing seller” rule, involves a determination of the reasonable market value of a license under the Rhine patent. Among the questions to be resolved in determining the market value are (1) what would Ford, as a prospective willing buyer, have been willing to pay for a Jicense, and (2) what would Ellipse, as a prospective willing seller of a license, have been willing to accept. (Tr. 16948-57; 16987-17001; 17257-59). -
Those questions, as well as the ultimate question of “reasonable royalty” must be resolved in light of the facts and circumstances known to the parties at the time they, hypothetically, would have negotiated a license had it been known that Ford’s use of the F-T pump would infringe the Rhine patent.
None of plaintiff’s proposals is based on this approach. It has entirely ignored the particular facts and circumstances of Ford and Ellipse. It has offered little evidence that is pertinent to such issues as the reasonable market value of a license under the Rhine patent in light of other pumps then available in the market place. The profits it computes for the F-T pump are not, in fact, profits but an arbitrary allocation or apportionment of profits on the basis of a cost ratio.
Based on the evidence in this case, the court is satisfied that neither a willing buyer nor a willing seller would make a decision as to a royalty on the basis of such an arbitrary allocation of profit. (Tr. 17025-71), (17088-113). Nor is there any evidence that “profits,” whether allocated or otherwise, would have any relevance, under the circumstances present in this case, to what either Ford as a willing buyer would be willing to pay or Ellipse as a willing seller would be willing to accept as a reasonable royalty. For these and other reasons that appear hereafter, plaintiff’s proposals for a reasonable royalty cannot be accepted.
The Time of the Hypothetical Negotiation
8. While the evidence does not precisely pinpoint when Ford’s infringement commenced, Ford first received four prototypes of the F-T pump from TRW sometime after March 7,1963. T&C engineers installed some of those pumps in a car but they failed almost immediately (Tr. 12197-99). T&C worked with TRW to resolve the problems encountered with the pump in 1963 and early 1964. (Tr. 12201). Ford’s negotiations with TRW for the F-T pump were concluded on August 8, 1963 when an agreement between the two companies was executed (DAX-60) and a purchase order was released. (DAX-132). By April or May, 1964, manufacture of the F-T pump by T&C was in progress (Tr. 12207-09; DAX-127).
The hypothetical negotiations are, therefore, time placed in the period of mid-1963 to early 1964 (hereinafter “1963-64”), when Ford began to manufacture and to use the F-T pump.
THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF FORD IN 1963-64
Power Steering In the Automobile Industry
9. A power steering system provides a hydraulic assist that takes over most of the effort of steering the automobile. (Tr. 11261). The power steering system includes a power steering gear (which replaces the manual steering gear), a pump, a power cylinder, brackets, hoses, belts, pulleys and fittings. (Tr. 11259-11272; DAX-107A, B, 108A, B, 113). The only function of the pump is to provide hydraulic fluid under pressure to the system (Tr. 11261, 11264, 11301).
Since the 1950’s, each of Ford’s competitors has offered power steering options for their cars (DAX-113, 114). The pumps for these power steering systems have been supplied by various companies in a highly competitive market. (Tr. 11811-14, 12846-59, 12875-79; DAX142A-H; 143A). General Motors has, since at least as early as 1953, used a vane type pump manufactured first by Vickers, Inc. and later by GM’s Saginaw Steering Gear Division (“Saginaw”). (DAX-113, 114; Tr. 11797-801). Chrysler Corporation has used a non-infringing slipper pump manufactured by TRW (DAX-108, 113, 114) as well as the Saginaw vane type pump (DAX-114; Tr. 11804-07). American Motors has used á non-infringing slipper pump manufactured by TRW, a non-infringing roller pump manufactured by Eaton Corporation (“Eaton”) and the Saginaw vane type pump. (DAX-114; Tr. 11804-08, 12853). In the early 1960’s, Ford’s power steering system used a roller pump manufactured by Eaton. (DAX-114).
10. In early 1963, T&C investigated the possibility of manufacturing a portion of Ford’s requirements for power steering pumps commencing with Job No. 1,1965. Several design alternatives were investigated to determine the most desirable pump from a product and manufacturing feasibility standpoint. (DAX-150G). The designs considered were:
Current Eaton design,
Proposed Eaton design,
Saginaw (Vickers Vane) design, Thompson (slipper) design.
The Eaton Design
11. At the time of T&C’s investigation, Ford was purchasing all of its power steering pumps from Eaton, including both a crankshaft mounted roller pump for the Lincoln and a belt driven roller pump for the other Ford car lines. (Tr. 11266-68; PAX-82; DAX-150G). T&C was primarily interested in manufacturing pumps for the car lines that used the belt driven pump. Eaton was willing to permit T&C to do so under a “make-buy” arrangement whereby T&C would be permitted to manufacture a portion of its power steering pump requirements using Eaton’s design and technology, provided Ford purchased the remainder of its pump requirements from Eaton. (Tr. 12843-47).
Both the then current Eaton design and the modified design were unbalanced roller pumps. (DAX-142B; Tr. 12830-31). The modified design had a wrap-around reservoir similar to the arrangement of the Saginaw and F-T designs (Tr. 11666-67, 12829-31; DAX-142B). Eaton had been selling the current design at' an average price of approximately $9.39 but proposed to supply the modified design in model year 1965 at a reduced price of $7.80 with a tooling cost of $325,000. (DAX-142B, -142C). Both the current and modified Eaton designs would have been available to Ford for Job No. 1, 1965. (Tr. 12860, 12870).
The Saginaw Design
12. The Saginaw pump was a balanced vane type pump designed by Vickers, Inc. (Tr. 11797, 11811). Its construction is similar to the F-T pump except it uses flat vanes instead of slippers (PAX 137, p. 58). Saginaw manufactures products for other divisions of General Motors, and actively seeks to sell those products to outside customers as well. (Tr. 11727-28). Saginaw had previously sold products to Ford, including steering gears, under a “make-buy” arrangement. (Tr. 11730-31).
Saginaw offered to supply its vane-type pump to T&C on a “make-buy” arrangement whereby Ford would be permitted to manufacture a portion of its power steering pump requirements, using Saginaw’s design and technology, provided Ford purchased the remainder of its requirements from Saginaw. (PAX-137, p. 58, Tr. 11728-32). The Saginaw pump would have been available for Job No. 1, 1965 (DAX-119A), and Saginaw would have supplied the pump to Ford at the same price it supplied the pump to divisions of General Motors. (Tr. 11728). Saginaw submitted to Ford a quote of $8.48 per pump with a tooling charge of $50,000. (DAX-119A, Tr. 11734-40).
The TRW Design
13. The F-T pump design is similar to the Saginaw pump except it uses slippers instead of flat vanes (PAX-137, p. 58). It is also similar to the slipper pumps Ford had used in its two speed automatic transmissions, except that it is a balanced pump. Ford had obtained the transmission slipper pump from Federal Industries, a predecessor of TRW, on a “make-buy” arrangement. T&C had manufactured a portion of Ford’s requirements for the transmission pump so it was generally familiar with slipper pumps when the investigation was conducted in 1963. (PAX-137, pp. 45-46, 59-60, 61, 74, 266).
TRW first quoted a price of $8.69 per pump and tooling costs of $361,000 for a portion of Ford’s requirements (DAX-131). Subsequently, TRW reduced the price by 25