Full opinion text
MURRAY M. SCHWARTZ, Senior District Judge. Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. (“Lucas”) commenced this action seeking a declaratory judgment of invalidity and non-infringement of four United States Patents held by Unison Industries Limited Partnership (“Unison”), as well as asserting claims sounding in antitrust and unfair competition. See Docket Item (“D.I.”) 63 (Amended Complaint). Unison’s patents cover a class of devices known as ignition exciters, or ‘igniters,’ that generate sparks to ignite fuel in turbine engines. See U.S. Patent 5,065,073 ; U.S. Patent 5,155,437; U.S. Patent 5,245,252; U.S. Patent 5,343,154. The Court conducted a twelve-day jury trial on the patent issues after severing the antitrust and unfair competition claims. Because the parties presented extrinsic evidence to explain disputed language in the patent claims, the Court permitted the jury to construe the claim language; after construing the claim language, the jury rendered its verdict. See D.I. 373. Following the jury’s verdict, but before the Court entered judgment, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals held “that in a case tried to the jury, the court has the power and obligation to construe as a matter of law the meaning of language used in the patent claim.” Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 979 (Fed.Cir.1995) (in banc), petition for cert. filed, 64 U.S.L.W. 3068 (July 3, 1995). Accordingly, at the request of both parties, the Court construed the patent claims at issue as a matter of law. See D.I. 378 (Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. 329 (D.Del.1995)); D.I. 379 (Order). The Court then entered judgment. See D.I. 386. Lucas has now filed a motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b) and an alternative motion for a new trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59. Lucas seeks to overturn the Court’s claim construction as a matter of law; the jury findings on infringement, validity and inventorship; and the Court’s ruling as a matter of law on Lucas’s equitable estoppel defense. Lucas also attacks the Court’s conduct of the trial. See D.I. 393. Similarly, Unison has renewed its motion for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b) and asks the Court to set aside the jury’s finding that ’073 patent claims 1 and 2 are invalid as obvious. See D.I. 395. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1338. The Court will address the numerous issues raised in the parties’ motions seri-atim. I. STANDARD OF REVIEW Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b) permits a party to “renew,” after the Court has entered judgment, a motion for judgment as a matter of law that the Court has previously denied or for any reason not granted. To evaluate a party’s motion for judgment as a matter of law, the Court “must determine whether there exists evidence of record upon which a jury might properly have returned a verdict in [the non-movant’s] favor when the correct legal standard is applied." Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d at 975 (quoting Jamesbury Corp. v. Litton Indus. Prods., Inc., 756 F.2d 1556, 1560 (Fed.Cir.1985)) (brackets in original). In other words, the Court must assess “whether the jury’s express or implied findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence.” Baxter Healthcare Corp. v. Spectramed, Inc., 49 F.3d 1575, 1582 (Fed.Cir.1995) (citation omitted), petition for cert. filed, 64 U.S.L.W. 3908 (June 15, 1995). To make its assessment, the Court must “(1) consider all of the evidence; (2) in a light most favorable to the non-moving party; (3) drawing all reasonable inferences favorable to that party; (4) without determining credibility of the witnesses; and (5) without substituting its choice for that of the jury’s in deciding between conflicting elements of the evidence.” Verdegaal Bros., Inc. v. Union Oil Co., 814 F.2d 628, 631 (Fed.Cir.) (citing Railroad Dynamics, Inc. v. A. Stucki Co., 727 F.2d 1506, 1512-13 (Fed.Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 871, 105 S.Ct. 220, 83 L.Ed.2d 150 (1984)); Connell v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 722 F.2d 1542, 1546 (Fed.Cir.1983), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 827, 108 S.Ct. 95, 98 L.Ed.2d 56 (1987). “Factual findings made by the jury ... are to be upheld unless the [movant] ... shows that (when the correct legal standard is applied) there is not substantial evidence to support a finding in favor of the nonmovant.” Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d at 975; see also Read Corp. v. Portee, Inc., 970 F.2d 816, 821 (Fed.Cir.1992) (holding the Court may not discard a finding of fact unless the movant “shows that on the entirety of the evidence of record, including that which detracts from the weight of the favorable evidence, and taking into account the required quantum of proof, no reasonable juror could have made the finding”). Finally, the Court must “review the issues of law necessary to the verdict,” id., and decide whether the jury’s factual findings support the verdict under the properly found law, Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d at 975. Rule 50(b) also permits a party to join a motion for a new trial pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59 with that party’s renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law. While permissible grounds on which to grant a motion for a new trial vary widely, these grounds converge upon the central theme of “whether an error occurred in the conduct of the trial that was so grievous as to have rendered the trial unfair.” DMI, Inc. v. Deere & Co., 802 F.2d 421, 427 (Fed.Cir.1986); see also Richardson v. Suzuki Motor Co., Ltd., 868 F.2d 1226, 1245 (Fed.Cir.) (“In order to vacate the jury’s verdict ... and grant a new trial thereon, the trial court must find that the jury’s verdict ‘is contrary to the clear weight of the evidence, or is based upon evidence which is false, or to prevent, in the sound discretion of the trial judge, a miscarriage of justice.’ ... It is insufficient that the district court would simply have reached a different verdict.”) (internal citations omitted), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 853, 110 S.Ct. 154, 107 L.Ed.2d 112 (1989); cf. Williamson v. Consolidated Rail Corp, 926 F.2d 1344, 1353 (3d Cir.1991) (“new trials because the verdict is against the weight of the evidence are proper only when the record shows that the jury’s verdict resulted in a miscarriage of justice or where the verdict, on the record, cries out to be overturned or shocks our conscience”) (citation omitted). II. CLAIM CONSTRUCTION The analysis of whether a patent is infringed proceeds in two steps. First, the Court must properly determine the meaning and scope of the patent claims. Second, the allegedly infringing device must be compared to the properly construed claims. See Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc., 52 F.3d at 976. The first issue posed by Lucas’s Rule 50(b) motion is whether the Court properly construed the meaning and scope of the patent claims at issue. Lucas argues the Court erroneously interpreted all aspects of the disputed claim language which the Court resolved against the claim construction proposed by Lucas. The Court will address each of Lucas’s arguments in turn. A. ’073 Patent Claim 1 — “a voltage converter for receiving a low voltage from a system source and converting it to a high DC output voltage” Lucas claims that the Court erred as a matter of law by holding that this claim language means “that the voltage converter produces a high DC output voltage to some value relatively greater than the convertor input.” Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 342. Lucas contends the Court’s construction of this language is in error because “[h]ad Unison intended the ‘high’ [DC output voltage] to be in reference to the ‘low voltage from the system source, then the proper way to draft the claim language would have been to use the term ‘relatively high voltage.’ ” D.I. 394 at 15. Lucas also argues that because Unison used a relative term in the claim language, the Court must refer to the patent specification to interpret this disputed claim language. Id. at 16. Finally, Lucas argues that the Court must define the phrase “high DC output voltage” in reference to the preferred embodiment because “no other element of claim 1 addresses a boosting of the voltage to obtain the high voltage that is required to fire the plug.” Id. at 17. These arguments fail to demonstrate that the Court has erred in its interpretation of this claim language. First, Lucas offers no valid support for its proposition that “the proper way to draft the claim language” would have been to use the term “relatively high voltage.” Id. at 15 (citing Steven A. Becker, Patent Applications Handbook 1995 Edition, Section 6.04[4] at 6-31 (1995 ed.)). As Lucas’s citation to the Patent Applications Handbook suggests, when the patentee uses relative language in the patent claims, the relative language must have a point of reference for comparison. Claim 1 of the ’073 patent provides a comparator for the ‘high DC output voltage,’ the voltage converter input received from the system source. ’073 Patent, col. 15 at In. 66-68. Lucas’s suggestion that Unison should have used the term ‘relatively’ to connote a comparison between the voltage converter output and the voltage converter input does not change the meaning of the claim language. Contrary to Lucas’s suggestion, if the claim had read “a voltage converter for receiving a relatively low voltage from a system source and converting it to a relatively high DC output voltage output,” the word ‘relatively’ would modify ‘low’ and ‘high’ in the phrase but would not provide any further datum to compare the voltage converter inputs and outputs. Furthermore, when the claim uses the phrases ‘relatively slow current rise,’ id., col. 16 at In. 17, and ‘relatively fast di/dt,’ id., col. 16 at In. 21-22, the word ‘relatively1 does not provide a point of reference for the comparison between the two values but modifies the rate of current rise, or ‘di/dt,’ just as the words ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ do. The Court’s construction of the claim also comports with language from the Patent Applications Handbook that Lucas omitted from its brief. According to the Patent Applications Handbook at 6-32 “[t]he language, ‘said inverter having a threshold within the range of .4 to .7 volt’ would be favorably received by the examiner. However, this limitation is usually excessively narrow. It would be preferable to define the threshold as being relative to another level in the claim, e.g., ‘said first inverter having a threshold higher than that of second inverter.’ ”. That is exactly what Unison has done in this claim. In sum, the Court finds nothing ambiguous about this claim language that requires reference to the specification. Citing Internet America, Inc. v. Kee-Vet Lab., Inc., 887 F.2d 1050 (Fed.Cir.1989), Lucas nevertheless urges the Court to interpret the claim language in light of the patent specification because the disputed claim language contains a relative term. Internet America, Inc. v. Kee-Vet Lab. stands for a different proposition. Far from requiring a quantitative definition of all relative terms by reference to the specification, the Internet America court found that the district court erred by reading a relative limitation into the claim that “mean[t] nothing without knowing the reference point from which attenuation [the extraneous limitation] is being measured.” Id. at 1055; see also id. (“Here again, ... the court was reading limitations into the claims which cannot be found there; ... it was reading them in from remarks made by the attorney in the course of arguing distinctions from a cited reference. We have set forth the asserted claims in full above and it is clear that they make no reference whatever to attenuation.”). Furthermore, even if Internet America did stand for the proposition cited by Lucas, Lucas’s suggested reference to the patent specification does not support its position that “800 volts [the Lucas devices’ voltage convertor output] could never qualify as a ‘high output voltage.’ ” D.I. 394 at 16 (citing ’073 Patent, col. 1 at In. 47). Column 1 fine 47 discusses 1000 volts as a low voltage for creating sparks at the igniter plug. In contrast, the claim language at issue involves low voltages coming from a system source and not low voltages for igniting sparks; the phrase ‘low voltage’ when used in the context of igniting fuel simply does not relate to the system source voltage. See also Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 334 (noting that most aircraft electronic supply voltages are 28 volts, which, when compared to either 1,000 or 2,500 volts, is ‘low1). Finally, in a refinement of its earlier arguments, Lucas contends the phrase ‘high DC output voltage’ and the phrase ‘a high voltage,’ as used in the fifth element of the ’073 patent, must have the same values because ’073 patent inventor John Frus testified that his invention, or at least the preferred embodiment of his invention, uses approximately the same voltage at the plug as is produced at the voltage converter. The structure of claim 1 belies this assertion. First, if the patentee had desired that these two phrases have the same meaning, the patentee would have used the phrase “the high DC output voltage (or the high voltage from the voltage converter) appears across the gap of the igniter plug_” Cf. Tandon Corp. v. United States Int’l Trade Comm’n, 831 F.2d 1017, 1023 (Fed.Cir.1987) (“There is presumed to be a difference in meaning and scope when different words or phrases are used in separate claims”) (discussing the doctrine of claim differentiation). Second, and more importantly, claim 1 of the ’073 is an open-ended claim comprised of a series of elements. As such, if an allegedly infringing device contains all of these elements, that device would be considered to infringe the patent, even if the device includes additional structures. Amstar Corp. v. Envirotech Corp., 730 F.2d 1476, 1482 (Fed.Cir.) (“Modification by mere addition of elements of functions, whenever made, cannot negate infringement”) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 924, 105 S.Ct. 306, 83 L.Ed.2d 240 (1984). An additional structure to boost the voltage converter output to a higher voltage as seen at the igniter plug is not precluded by the language of claim 1. In sum, Lucas has not demonstrated that the Court has erred as a matter of law in its construction of the phrase “high DC output voltage.” B. ’073 Patent Claim 1 — “solid state means ... such that the following sequence of event [sic] occurs” Previously, the Court held as a matter of law that this claim language “requires only that the solid state means create the sequence of events described in the claim,” rejecting Lucas’s argument that the sequence of events requires a waveform as illustrated in ’073 Patent Figures 3b and 4 (curve B). Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 342. Lucas now asserts that the Court’s claim construction reads on the prior art. D.I. 394 at 19. Lucas reaches this conclusion by arguing that Figure 4 (curves B and C), which represent current waveforms produced by the pri- or art, both show “a slight period of low di/dt followed by a period of high di/dt and thus would fall within the described sequence of events.” Id. at 20. From this analysis, Lucas. concludes that the distinction between the invention, which requires relative slow current rise followed by relatively fast current rise, and the prior art, as evidenced in Figure 4 (curves B and C), is not found within the words of the claim as construed by the Court. This argument fails to account for the portions of the claim language other than the descriptors of the rate of current rise. In addition to requiring a relatively slow current rise followed by a relatively fast current rise, the fifth element of claim 1 requires, for example, a high voltage across the gap of the igniter plug that begins to create a plasma; initiation of a relatively slow current rise during transition of a solid state switch from first to second state while sustaining the high voltage across the gap of the igniter plug; and, most importantly, saturation of magnetically saturable core inductor “thereby completing the generation of a spark across the gap.” ’073 Patent, col. 16 at In. 15-24. In other words, not only must the changes in the current rise appear, but they must appear in the circuit having the components recited in the claim language. As stated previously, the physical and electrical characteristics of the components implementing this element of the claim may well create a waveform that, on a strictly comparative basis, looks more like Figure 4 (curve B or C) than Figure 4 (curve A). Likewise, on a strictly visual basis, an ignition exciter with an air core inductor may create a waveform that looks more like Figure 4 (curve A) than Figure 4 (curves B and C). But looking solely at these illustrations, i.e., the visual descriptions of what the sequence of events in the fifth element of the claim is to produce, does not account for the infinite possible permutations of the ultimate waveform shape. What will bring a device within the purview of the disputed claim language is a low current rise followed by a fast current rise and the other items included within the claim language. In the end, the curves are illustrative of the typical differences between air core and saturable core inductors implementing the waveshaping scheme. Mere similarity to one curve or the other does not make a device infringe; to measure infringement on the basis of Figure 4 alone would allow a device with all of the elements of claim 1 of the ’073 patent, performing all the functions required by the claim language, to be non-infringing if it could be demonstrated that the device’s waveform tracked more closely to Figure 4 (curve B or C) than to Figure 4 (curve A). The difference between an infringing and non-infringing device is not solely in the shape of the curves, but also in the way that the invention generates the curves. C. ’073 Patent Claim 17 — “a sensor incorporated into said inductive device” The Court construed this language to mean “any inductive device incorporating a sensor ‘providing a diagnostic signal having electrical characteristics that represent the electrical and magnetic events occurring at the gap of the ignitor plug during the period of energy transfer to spark across a gap of the ignitor plug’ that is placed in the ignition system in accordance with the requirements of the claim.” Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 342. In reaching this conclusion, the Court rejected Lucas’s argument that the patent specification limits the phrase “said inductive device” to saturable core inductors. See id. at 337-38. Lucas now abandons this argument and contends that the Court erred in its claim constructions not because the sensor required by claim 17 must be a saturable core inductor, but because the sensor in claim 17 must be “the same inductor that is creating the ‘sequence’ described in claim 1.” D.I. 394 at 28. Because, Lucas concludes, “claim 17 does not refer to a saturable core inductor” but instead refers to the inductor that creates the sequence of events described in claim 1, the Court’s claim differentiation analysis, see Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 337-38, was in error. This is the first time that Lucas has raised this argument; it did not advance this contention either at trial or in its papers on claim construction. When the Court construed claim 17, for example, Lucas never attempted to equate the inductor in claim 17 to the inductor in claim 1. Similarly, Lucas did not try its case under this theory. Nevertheless, the Court has examined the merits of Lucas’s argument and finds them lacking. First, Lucas never states why it believes the inductor of claim 17 must be the same inductor as that which creates the “sequence” found in claim 1. Instead, Lucas rehashes its previous rationale for concluding that the inductor of claim 17 must be a saturable core inductor. Compare D.I. 394 at 28-29 (discussing the ’073 specification at columns 9 and 10) with D.I. 367 at 6 (same). The Court has already addressed this argument and on this basis finds no error in its construction of claim 17. Second, Lucas’s suggestion that the Court’s claim construction permits the patent to cover auxiliary transformers that are, according to Lucas, within the prior art is without merit. While the description of the preferred embodiment does state that auxiliary voltage transformers are “typically ... used” to sense current and voltage, the description of the preferred embodiment does not state that they are typically used in igniter technology. See ’073 Patent, col. 10 at In. 2-16. In fact, the only testimony at trial as to this issue suggested that ignition exciters had never previously incorporated sensors to provide diagnostic signals as to igniter plug health. See D.I. 403 at 772-82 (noting that igniter diagnostics internal to the igniter were unknown in the art prior to Unison’s invention) (testimony by inventor Frus); see also ’073 Patent, col. 10 at In. 4 (suggesting that auxiliary transformers were not then used in exciter circuits due to insertion losses and physical difficulties in placing the component within an igniter circuit). Thus, while the description of the preferred embodiment indicates the inventor believed that a sensor incorporated into the saturable core inductor was superior to use of an auxiliary transformer, neither the claim language nor the extrinsic evidence adduced at trial suggests that use of an auxiliary transformer for sensing in an ignition exciter was obvious or common to one skilled in the art of igniter design. Because Lucas did not try the case under this theory, there- is no evidence to support it, and, other than using the description of the preferred embodiment to suggest that the inductor referenced in claim 17 is the same inductor that creates the sequence of events in claim 1, i.e., the satura-ble core inductor, Lucas offers no basis on which to conclude that the claim 17 inductor is the same inductor that creates the sequence in claim 1. Nothing in the structure of either claim 17 or claim 1 dictates that result. Furthermore, the fact that the preferred embodiment uses the same inductor in both roles does not dictate that result. The carefully selected claim language, passed upon by the Patent and Trademark Office, does not require a saturable core inductor. The Court finds no reason to believe that its construction of claim 17 was in error. D. ’252 Patent Claim 1 — “waveshape the voltage and current in order to efficiently ignite the fuel in the turbine engine” The Court construed this language to mean that the invention must “produce ‘a current waveform ... which initially rises relatively slowly, followed by a transition to a fast rising current which quickly peaks and thereafter slowly dissipates.’ ” Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 342. As with claim 1 of the ’073 patent, Lucas argued to the Court that the phrase “waveshape the voltage and current’ meant to produce a waveform similar to that depicted in Figures 3b and 4 (Curve A) of the ’252 patent. See id. at 339. Lucas now repeats the same arguments which it made with respect to claim 1 of the ’073 patent. In essence, Lucas suggests that the Court’s claim construction encompasses waveforms demonstrated in Figure 3a and Figure 4 (curves B and C) and that, therefore, the Court’s claim construction is “too broad since it would cover prior art and invalidate the claim.” D.I. 394 at 33. Lucas’s arguments fail for the same reason they failed with respect to the ’073 patent. Figure 3b represents the generalized shape of a saturable core inductor’s current waveform. Figure 4 (curve A) represents the preferred embodiment’s waveshape in comparison to the preferred embodiment implemented with an air core inductor. Once again, Figure 4 (curve A) is representative of just one permutation of the waveforms that could be created by a network with varying electrical and physical characteristics. The fact that Figure 4 (curves B and C) also have an initially slow current rise does not indicate that the claim construction is over broad; it merely demonstrates that the waveform characteristics of the ’073 invention implemented with an air core inductor cannot match the theoretical characteristics of an air core inductor demonstrated in Figure 3a. More importantly, the differences between the two sets of waveforms, particularly in Figure 3, help to define what is meant by the claim language describing the change in the rate of current rise. The differences in the two sets of illustrations, however, do not act as an invitation for alleged infringers to argue that their waveform looks more like one curve than the other curve, thereby ignoring the more important and defining aspect of the invention, the components required in the language of the claim that create the waveform. The Court thus concludes, once again, that Lucas has demonstrated no error in the Court’s construction of the ’252 Patent claim 1. E. %S7 Patent Claim 21 — “[a]n ignition system having the ability to diagnose the state of health of an igniter plug” ’151 Patent Claim 1 — “a diagnostic circuit responsive to the exciter and igniter plug detectors for reporting a failure of the igniter plug only when ... the sparks are not being produced at the igniter plug, the diagnostic circuit including an output for reporting the state of the health of the ignition system” ’151 Patent Claim 1 — “an igniter plug detector for detecting whether the high energy pulses produce sparks at the igniter plug” The Court construed these claims to mean that the diagnostic system must only detect an open circuit failure at the plug and need not detect all plug failures. Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 342. Lucas now argues that the Court has construed these claims in a manner that does violence to the plain meaning of the claims. See D.I. 394 at 45-46. The Court rejects this suggestion and finds no error in its claim constructions. First, as stated in the Court’s earlier opinion, Lucas’s contention that the claims require detection of short circuit conditions at the plug would render both patents invalid for failure to disclose the invention adequately. See Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Industries, L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 341. Second, with respect to both patents, what Lucas now wants to do is add a positive, or inclusive, limitation to the claims of the patent that is not found in the specification of either patent. As the Court noted previously, both the specification and the extrinsic evidence adduced at trial are consistent with the conclusion that the claim language does not require a device within the scope of the patent to detect all failures of the plug and that, consequently, a system that detects the open failure mode, or a system that determines sparks are not being produced by looking and asking the plug whether sparks are being produced, would fall within the purview of the patent. F. Impact of Claim Construction on the Jury’s Deliberations In its brief supporting its motion for judgment as a matter of law, .Lucas argues that the Court’s claim construction “took away from the jury the opportunity to consider the validity of the claims in light of their substantially broadened legal meaning.” D.I. 394 at 49. Specifically, Lucas argues that had it “known that the Court would construe the claim language in such a broad way, it would have had the opportunity of describing the relevance of the [prior] art in light of the claim’s [sic] breadth.” Id. at 50. The Court finds this proposition without merit. If Lucas’s trial strategy was to ignore the possibility Unison might prevail on some or all of the contested issues of claim construction, it cannot now complain. Both parties entered the case not knowing how the disputed claim language would eventually be construed, and Lucas chose not to present its validity case in reference to the claim constructions advocated by Unison. In other words, Lucas chose to try its case assuming that it would prevail on every issue of claim construction. Lucas certainly knew at least the broad possibilities of how the disputed claims could be construed, and where the Court has rejected Lucas’s claim construction, it has construed the claims roughly to the parameters advocated by Unison. In the end, had the Court never construed the claims as a matter of law, Lucas would be the same position it is now. Therefore, because Lucas has failed to establish an error so grievous that the jury’s verdict has become unfair, the Court rejects Lucas’s application for a new trial on this ground. III. JURY FINDINGS— INFRINGEMENT A. Literal Infringement Lucas moves for a judgment as a matter of law reversing the jury’s findings that Lucas exciter SL20011 literally infringed claims 1 and 2 of the ’078 patent, claims 8 and 21 of the ’437 patent, and claims 1 and 3 of the ’154 patent. To prove literal infringement, Unison carried the burden at trial to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the SL20011 includes each and every element found in Unison’s patent claims. Southwall Technologies, Inc. v. Cardinal IG Co., 54 F.3d 1570, 1575 (Fed.Cir.1995) (citing Becton Dickinson & Co. v. C.R. Bard, Inc., 922 F.2d 792, 796 (Fed.Cir.1990)). Because Unison prevailed on these issues, the Court will consider the evidence in a light most favorable to Unison and assess whether the jury’s findings of fact are supported by substantial evidence. See supra text at 1272. The Court finds substantial evidence to support the jury’s findings of literal infringement. Lucas raises three issues with respect to claims 1 and 2 of the ’073 patent. First, Lucas argues that its device does not have a voltage converter that receives a low voltage and converts it to a high voltage. Lucas continues to maintain that because its voltage converter only steps up the aircraft system voltage to 800 volts, but the plug sparks at the higher voltage of 3000 volts, the SL20011 does not literally infringe. The Court finds substantial evidence to support the jury’s finding that the SL20011 voltage converter receives a low voltage and converts it to a high DC output voltage. As Lucas’s brief concedes, the uneontroverted trial testimony stated that “the Lucas Aerospace voltage converter steps up an input voltage to a relatively higher voltage.” D.I. 394 at 22; see also D.I. 409 at 1061 (testimony of Unison expert Burton). Lucas’s suggestion that the SL20011 voltage converter does not step up the low input voltage to the voltage seen at the plug is beside the point. Lucas has argued, albeit obliquely at times, that claim 1 requires that the voltage converter output be the same voltage seen at the igniter plug. Claim 1 does not impose such a limitation, however, see supra text at 1274-75, and Lucas’s factual argument is without merit. Second, Lucas contends the waveform produced by SL20011 more closely mirrors ’073 Patent Figure 4 (curves B and C) than ’073 Patent Figure 4 (Curve A), and that, therefore, the SL20011 does not infringe. See D.I. 394 at 22-23. This argument bears no weight in light of the Court’s construction of the claim language relating to the sequence of events. Moreover, substantial evidence exists to support a conclusion that the SL20011 literally infringes the ’073 patent, even under the erroneous assumption that the ’073 patent requires a current waveform that most closely approximates Figure 4 (curve A). Numerous actual tests and theoretical models showed SL20011 waveforms with a low initial di/dt, followed by a fast dpdt that comport with the theoretical waveform in Figures 3B and 4 (curve A). The Court will not substitute its judgment as to the identity of the waveforms for that of the jury. Finally, Lucas argues that Unison should be “bound by the admissions of its expert that a device exhibiting the waveform of Figure 3a or 4 (curve B or C) does not infringe.” D.I. 394 at 23. Under the standard of review, the Court is not bound to accept this statement, and this statement does not preclude a jury finding adverse to Lucas. Furthermore, Lucas does not assert that no substantial evidence exists to support a finding that the sequence of events exists in the SL20011 as required by the ’073 patent or that the jury’s finding of infringement, predicated on an erroneous claim construction, is subsumed by the correct construction of claim 1 of the ’073 patent. Because Figures 3b and 4 (curve A) illustrate the sequence of events in claim 1, and because substantial evidence exists for the jury to find the SL20011 exhibited the waveforms of Figures 3b and 4 (curve A), the Court finds no reason to disturb the jury’s verdict. Lucas’s arguments that the jury’s findings of literal infringement on the ’437 and ’154 patents are against the weight of the evidence are dependent on Lucas’s arguments vis-a-vis the correct claim construction of these patents. Lucas argues that the SL20011 cannot detect short circuit failures of the plug and thus cannot detect whether sparks are being produced at the igniter plug, ’154 patent claims 1 and 3; diagnose the health of an ignition system, id.; or diagnose the state of health of an igniter plug, ’437 patent claim 21. In light of the correct claim construction as a matter of law, these contentions are meritless because neither patent requires detection of short circuit failures of the plug. Furthermore, although Lucas does not base its motion on the quanta of evidence supporting the jury’s verdict, substantial evidence exists to support the jury’s finding of literal infringement of both patents. All evidence at trial indicated that the SL20011 can and does detect open circuit failures at the plug. On that basis, ample evidence existed for the jury to conclude the SL20011 literally infringed the ’154 and ’437 patents. B. Doctrine of Equivalents The jury found that Lucas exciter SL10Ó01 infringed claims 1, 2, and 3 of the ’073 patent and claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the ’252 patent under the doctrine of equivalents. The jury also found that Lucas exciter SL20011 infringed claim 17 of the ’073 patent and claims 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of the ’252 patent under the doctrine of equivalents. See D.I. 373. Lucas challenges the evidentiary bases for these findings on the grounds that “Unison failed to present the ‘particularized testimony and linking argument’ required to send its doctrine of equivalents claims to the jury,” D.I. 412 at 6; see also D.I. 394 at 8, and that Unison failed to present evidence to “support a finding that the Lucas Aerospace devices contain the substantial equivalent of each of the claim limitations of the ’252 or ’073 patent [sic] or that they operate in the same way as the claimed inventions.” D.I. 394 at 11. Additionally, Lucas makes the legal argument that the jury’s findings of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents would permit Unison to obtain coverage in its patents beyond that which could have been obtained with literal claims from the Patent and Trademark Office because literal claims sufficient in scope to cover Lucas’s exciters would read on the prior art. Id. at 11-12. Generally, the “application of the doctrine of equivalents rests on the substantiality of the differences between the claimed and accused products or processes, assessed according to an objective standard” and viewed from “the vantage point of one of ordinary skill in the relevant art.” Hilton Davis Chem. Co. v. Warner-Jenkinson Co., Inc., 62 F.3d 1512, 1518, 1519. Just as with literal infringement, the patentee must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that each element of the patent, or its substantial equivalent, exists in the accused device. Lemelson v. United States, 752 F.2d 1538, 1551 (Fed.Cir.1985). In other words, the factfinder may conclude a device infringes under the doctrine of equivalents “if an equivalent of a recited limitation has been substituted in the accused device.” Malta v. Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., 952 F.2d 1320, 1325 (Fed.Cir.1991), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 974, 112 S.Ct. 2942, 119 L.Ed.2d 566 (1992). As part of the patentee’s proof of the existence of the substantial equivalents of an element of the patent in the accused device, the patentee also must present particularized testimony and linking argument to provide guidance to the jury in its application of the doctrine of equivalents. Lear Siegler, Inc. v. Sealy Mattress Co., 873 F.2d 1422, 1426 (Fed.Cir.1989). In essence, Lear Siegler, Inc. v. Sealy Mattress Co. adds no substantive requirements to prove infringement, but “merely requires that a patentee prove all elements of his case, which, with respect to the doctrine of equivalents, means that a patentee must prove that each prong of the Graver Tank equivalency test is met.” Malta v. Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., 952 F.2d at 1328. The factfinder traditionally evaluates the substantiality of differences between the claimed invention and the accused device in terms of function, way, and result. Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Prod. Co., 339 U.S. 605, 608, 70 S.Ct. 854, 856, 94 L.Ed. 1097 (1950). Other factors also provide relevant gauges to assess whether or not the differences between the claimed invention and the accused device are insubstantial. For example, “[t]he known interchangeability of the accused and claimed elements is potent evidence that one of ordinary skill in the art would have considered the change [in elements] insubstantial.” Hilton Davis Chem. Co. v. Warner-Jenkinson Co., Inc., 62 F.3d at 1519. Independent development of an infringing product “does not excuse infringement of the patent owner’s right to exclude” and “provides no information about the substantiality of the differences” between the accused device and the patented invention. Id. at 1520. Finally, “culpable conduct ... is not a prerequisite nor necessary for application of the doctrine.” Id. at 1519. Before turning to the jury’s findings, the Court notes that Lucas has for the most part chosen not to argue deficiencies in Unison’s presentation of infringement evidence, but instead has constructed a mixed legal and factual argument on why Lucas believes its devices do not infringe Unison’s patents. As a consequence, much of its argument is seemingly directed as if the Court were deciding the factual issues of infringement in the first instance. Lucas’s rationale for believing its devices do not infringe was properly directed toward the factfinder, not the Court; the Court will not disturb the jury’s findings of infringement unless substantial evidence does not exist to support those findings or unless the jury’s verdict is contrary to the clear weight of the evidence. Pursuant to Rule 50(b), Lucas must, in the first instance, clearly identify and pursue in its brief any area where it deemed substantial evidence lacking to support the jury’s finding of fact. Where Lucas raises questions of sufficiency of the evidence, the Court addresses them. Lucas challenges the evidentiary basis underlying the jury’s findings of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents by the SL10001 with respect to four portions of claims 1, 2, and 3 of the ’073 patent: the voltage convertor’s high DC output voltage, the required sequence of events, unipolarity, and the saturable care inductor. See D.I. 394 at 21-26. As discussed with respect to literal infringement of the SL20011, substantial evidence exists for the jury to conclude the SL10001 has a voltage converter that converts a low input voltage to a high DC output voltage. Lucas’s contention that the SL10001 achieves a high voltage at the plug in a different manner than the claimed invention is of no moment because it derives from a construction of claim 1 that is incorrect as a matter of law and because substantial evidence exists to conclude the SL10001 contains exactly the same elements described by the patent claims. See supra text at 1278-79. Next, Lucas argues that under Lucas’s proposed construction of the ‘sequence of events,’ no basis exists for the jury to conclude the SL10001 infringes the ’073 patent. Lucas’s proposed construction of the ‘sequence of events’ is incorrect as a matter of law. Further, Lucas does not assert that no substantial evidence exists for the jury to find the ‘sequence of events’ in the SL10001 or that the jury’s finding is against the weight of the evidence under the Court’s claim construction as a matter of law. The Court therefore finds no basis to disturb the jury’s findings of fact on this ground. Lucas next argues that because the SL10001 exhibits a bipolar current and because the SL10001 uses a ‘pulse transformer,’ rather than a saturable core inductor, the SL10001 does not infringe claim 1 of the ’073 patent. D.I. 394 at 23-26. First, although Lucas never questions whether substantial evidence exists for the jury to conclude that both of these elements, or their substantial equivalents, are found in the SL10001 exciter, substantial evidence supports the jury’s finding that the function, way, and result of the SL10001 differs insubstantially from claim 1 of the ’073 patent. Because the jury deliberated under the assumption that claim required an absolutely unipolar current, the jury necessarily found the SL10001 waveforms to be substantially the same as an absolutely unipolar waveform. Substantial evidence supports this finding. Inventor Frus and Lucas’s Chief Engineer Godfrey testified that no circuit can achieve an absolute unipolar waveform, D.I. 406 at 1808; D.I. 402 at 2401-10; Frus testified that one skilled in the art would not classify the SL10001 waveform as bipolar simply because of small oscillations at the beginning of the current pulse; id. at 2399-400; and Unison’s expert Burton testified that his tests on the SL10001 showed a ‘predominantly unipolar waveform,’ D.I. 403 at 978, 980, 1062-63; see also id. at 1095, that the SL10001 energy delivery to the plug occurs in a unipolar pulse as required by the claim, id. at 1182-83, and that imperfections in a current waveform do not make that waveform bipolar, id. at 1183, 1231-40. This testimony indicates the differences between the SLIOOOl’s and the claimed invention’s function and result are insubstantial, if any. Further, substantial evidence supports the conclusion that the SL10001 achieves the unipolar current in the same way as the claimed invention. See D.I. 403 at 1094-95 (discussing use of a freewheeling diode in the SL10001 as a unidirectional device to achieve a unipolar current); D.I. 405 at 1337-38 (same). Additionally, the construction of this portion of the claim as a matter of law does nothing to the jury’s verdict. In fact, contrary to Lucas’s argument, it would have permitted the jury to find literal infringement of the SL10001 because Burton’s tests of the SL10001 present substantial evidence that the oscillations occurring in the SL10001 fall within the bounds of ringing or noise at the initiation of the current pulse. See Unison Trial Exh. 410. The initial current oscillation varies in magnitude between tests, indicating that it is not an intended circuit design result. Also, in at least one test, Plot B, no change in current polarity is apparent. See id. A finding of no substantial difference between the accused device and ’073 patent claim 1 easily falls within the Court’s construction of the claim. Likewise, Unison presented substantial testimony that Lucas’s ‘pulse transformer’ is at least the substantial equivalent of the inductor called out in the claim. See D.I. 402 at 2429-33; D.I. 409 at 1197; D.I. 400 at 2656. Lucas objects that these evidentiary bases do not stem from particularized testimony and linking argument. This is not the case. No requirement for particularized testimony and linking argument exists as to elements which substantial evidence indicates are literally found within the accused device. Furthermore, Unison met this burden with respect to the unipolar waveform produced by a unidirectional device and Lucas’s ‘pulse transformer.’ Unison presented substantial evidence to demonstrate the equivalence between the SL10001 waveform and what Unison believed, and the Court ultimately held, the claim required as a matter of law. The testimony Unison presented with regard to all elements of the claim are far removed from the facts facing the court of appeals in Malta v. Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., and its precursors, where the patentee mentioned equivalence between the accused device and the invention only in passing. See, e.g., Malta v. Schulmerich Carillons, Inc., 952 F.2d at 1327 (citing “Mr. Malta’s offhand and eonclu-sory statements (‘buttons or the equivalent thereof and ‘They function like buttons’)”). Here, Unison presented detailed testimony on the lack of substantial differences between Lucas’ exciters and the claim requirements. Finally, Lucas’s characterization of the testimony as directed toward literal infringement is irrelevant; all of Unison’s testimony in this regard focused on showing that the SL10001 and its current waveform differed insubstantially, if at all, from the required waveform of the ’073 patent. The second portion of Lucas’s argument contends the SL10001 cannot infringe by the doctrine of equivalents because pulse transformers existed in the prior art. This mis-comprehends the basis on which prior art may limit application of the doctrine of equivalents. As- a general matter, it is true that “limitations in a claim cannot be given a range of equivalents so wide as to cause the claim to encompass anything in the prior art.” Senmed, Inc. v. Richard-Allan Medical Indus., 888 F.2d 815, 821 (Fed.Cir.1989) (citation omitted). The rational is simply to limit the range of equivalent infringing devices to those devices the patentee could have literally claimed before the Patent and Trademark Office. Wilson Sporting Goods Co. v. David Geoffrey & Assoc., 904 F.2d 677, 684 (Fed.Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 992, 111 S.Ct. 537, 112 L.Ed.2d 547 (1990). The Federal Circuit has thus suggested that application of the doctrine of equivalents becomes limited when a “hypothetical patent claim, sufficient in scope to literally cover the accused product[,] ... would have been obvious in view of the prior art.” Id. (emphasis added). It is not because a single, or even multiple, equivalent portion of a claim may be found in prior art that a claim reads on the prior art and becomes obvious because asserting that a single element of the accused device existed in the prior art does not ask whether the hypothetical claim, viewed as a whole, would have been obvious. See infra text at 1289-90 (setting out requirements to invalidate a patent for obviousness). Asserting that pulse transformers existed in the art prior to Unison’s patents, for example, does not justify the legal conclusion that the ’073 patent could not have specified a pulse transformer and still have been patentable. Not only is the legal basis for Lucas’s argument flawed; the factual basis is flawed as well. The Patent and Trademark Office has granted a claim in the ’252 patent where the inductor claimed is one winding of a transformer. See ’252 Patent claim 4. Also, although Lucas argues that the combination of United States Patent 2,896,123 to McNulty (Lucas Trial Exh. 346) and United States Patent 4,510,915 to Ishikawa (Lucas Trial Exh. 320) constitutes the equivalent hypothetical claim that covers Lucas’s devices, Lucas forgets that it presented the jury with the question of whether McNulty and Ishika-wa rendered the ’073 patent obvious and that the jury answered in the negative. Substantial evidence exists to support that finding. See infra text at 1293. At this juncture, the Court notes that Lucas sets out similar arguments with respect to the permissible range of equivalents throughout its brief. See, e.g., D.I. 394 at 26 (asserting noninfringement of ’073 patent claim 2 because low tension igniter plugs and pulse transformers are found in the prior art); id. at 27 (asserting non-infringement of ’073 patent claim 3 because a dual spark rate and a pulse transformer are “found in the prior art”); id. at 37 (asserting non-infringement. of ’252 patent claim 1 because pulse transformers existed in the prior art); id. at 38-39 (matching elements of the Lucas devices to individual pieces of prior art); id. at 43 (asserting noninfringement of ’252 patent claim 3 because inductors existed in the prior art); id. (asserting noninfringement of ’252 patent claim 4 because transformers and windings of transformers are used in prior art); id. at 43-44 (asserting nonin-fringement of ’252 patent claim 5 because unidirectional devices are found in prior art references); id. at 44 (asserting noninfringement of ’252 patent claim 7 because the sensor feature is found in prior art); id. (asserting noninfringement of ’252 patent claim 8 because DC-to-DC convertors are found in prior art references). A patent claim that includes a structure, means, or function that the patentee did not invent from first principles, i.e., a patent claim that includes a structure, means, or function previously known to the world, does not render that claim invalid or make that claim read in the prior art. To conclude otherwise would invalidate all but the most innovative pioneer patents. And if Lucas’s reading of Wilson Sporting Goods Co. v. David Geoffrey & Assoc, is correct, not only should Lucas’s devices not infringe, but Unison’s patents should be prima facie invalid because they contain basic electrical components, including a DC-to-DC convertor, a unidirectional device, and an inductor, previously known in the art. Lucas’s Wilson arguments miscom-prehend the interrelationship of the doctrine of equivalents and the prior art. The Court therefore finds Lucas’s Wilson arguments without merit, as made with respect to both the ’073 and ’252 patents. Lucas next argues that the SL10001 and the SL20011 do not infringe claim 1 of the ’252 patent under the doctrine of equivalents. First, Lucas argues that its devices produce a waveform that most closely resembles Figure 3a and 4 (curves B and C) of the ’252 patent. This argument, even if not essentially an interpretation of the evidence within the province of the jury, is foreclosed by the proper construction of the ’252 claim language as a matter of law. Second, Lucas argues that its devices do not infringe because they exhibit sharp transition between slow and fast rates of current charge. Again, Lucas seeks a finding of fact outside the province of the Court and fails to illustrate how, if at all, Unison’s infringement proof failed to meet the evidentiary requirements for the jury to find the Lucas devices “waveshape.’ Moreover, substantial evidence exists to show the Lucas devices do wavesh-ape. See, e.g., D.I. 409 at 1084, 1158-65, 1168-70; D.I. 400 at 2652^-53; D.I. 402 at 2429-33. Lucas then argues that the jury could not find, as a matter of law, that its devices contain the ’252 patent claim’s express limitation that the network be interposed between a series connected solid state switch and igniter plug. D.I. 394 at 36. As the Court held when construing this claim language, the positional reference ‘interposed between’ requires the solid state switch, network, and igniter plug to appear in an infringing device in that specific order. See Lucas Aerospace, Ltd. v. Unison Indus., L.P., 890 F.Supp. at 342. Both Lucas and Unison agree that Lucas’s exciters implement these components in the order switch, plug, network. Unison presented substantial evidence at trial with which the jury could find that the differences between Lucas’s devices and the claimed invention are insubstantial. Both Lucas’s and Unison’s experts testified that Lucas’s component order switch, plug, network did not effect the performance of Lucas’s exciters. See D.I. 409 at 1185-86; D.I. 405 at 1310-11; D.I. 402 at 2153-55. In other words, Lucas’s exciters perform the same function as that called out by the claim. Unison’s expert also testified that, so long as the switch, plug, and network were connected in series, the same current would pass through the components, regardless of their order, and the components would “still operate[] in the same way.” D.I. 405 at 1310; see also id. at 1315-16 (MR. Neeseman [Counsel for Lucas]: “Now, your thesis, I think, is that it doesn’t matter what direction. It all amounts to the same thing under this patent; isn’t that right?” Mr. Burton [Unison’s expert]: “Well, first of all, it’s not my thesis. It’s common electrical engineering practice when one has several components in a series circuit, they can be rearranged in any order. The circuit still flows through all of them and it doesn’t make any difference what order they’re in.”). This same testimony provides substantial evidence on which to conclude the component order switch, plug, network produces the same result as the claimed invention. This testimony provides an overwhelming basis for the Court to conclude that substantial evidence underlies the jury’s implicit finding of no substantial difference between the claimed invention and the accused devices. If that be so, Lucas argues that to allow the jury’s finding of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents to stand, the Court will have allowed the jury to read an express limitation out of the claim, specifically that the network appear between the switch and the plug. Application of the doctrine of equivalents does not require the accused device to literally include every limitation found in the claim. Rather, as previously stated, infringement under the doctrine of equivalents requires every limitation, or its substantial equivalent, to appear in the accused device. “The doctrine of equivalents, by definition, involves going beyond any permissible interpretation of the claim language; i.e., it involves determining whether the accused product is ‘equivalent’ to what is described by the claim language.” Wilson Sporting Goods Co. v. David Geoffrey & Assoc., 904 F.2d at 684. The evidence in this ease does not exhibit the factors that led to a finding of nonin-fringement in many of the leading cases from the court of appeals. For example, in Pennwalt Corp. v. Durand-Way land, Inc., 833 F.2d 931, 935-36 (Fed.Cir.1987) (in banc), cert. denied, 485 U.S. 961, 108 S.Ct. 1226, 99 L.Ed.2d 426 (1988), and cert. denied, 485 U.S. 1009, 108 S.Ct. 1474, 99 L.Ed.2d 703 (1988), the court of appeals affirmed a district court judgment holding the patentee failed to prove infringement because, while the accused device performed substantially the same function and achieved substantially the same result as the claimed invention, the accused device performed that function and reached that result in a manner substantially different than that called for in the patent claims. The accused device sorted fruit using a computer that tracked weight and col- or, while the patent claims sorted fruit using a hard-wired system that continuously indicated the fruit’s position. Id. at 935-36. In contrast, in this case, substantial evidence supports the conclusion that reordering the switch, network, and plug in Lucas’s device does not change the electrical manner in which the switch, network, and plug cooperate to perform the waveshaping function an achieve the spark result. Similarly, this is not a case where the accused device achieves the same result as the claimed invention by eliminating a meaningful structure in the invention. In Dolly, Inc. v. Spalding & Evenflo Cos., 16 F.3d 394 (Fed.Cir.1994), for example, an open-ended claim required, among other elements, a seat panel, a back panel, and a self-supporting and free-standing stable rigid frame. Id. at 396. The accused device did not have a separate stable rigid frame but rather had a stable rigid frame “assembled from the seat and back panels” that was not merely a known alternative substitute to the stable rigid frame, and the court of appeals held that no infringement was possible unless the court failed to give effect to the requirement of a separate stable rigid form. Id. at 400. Again, the facts in this case differ significantly. The components required by the claim appear in the accused device, and Unison presented substantial evidence supporting a finding that Lucas’s switch, plug, and network circuit design differed insubstantially from the claimed invention. Finally, Corning Glass Works v. Sumitomo Elec. U.S.A., Inc., 868 F.2d 1251 (Fed.Cir.1989), provides strong guidance on application of the doctrine of equivalents in this case. In Coming Glass, the invention related to optical fibers featuring a positive do-pant in the fiber core. The dopant made the core’s index of refraction greater than that of the cladding and allowed the fiber to transmit light. Id. at 1254-55. The accused device sustained a negative dopant in the cladding but no dopant in the core. Id. at 1258. The court of appeals rejected the argument that the accused device lacked a limitation, the positive core dopant, that would prevent infringement under the doctrine of equivalents, and the court found no error in the finding of infringement because an equivalent to the positive core dopant existed in the negative cladding dopant. Id. at 1261. According to the court of appeals, “[a]n equivalent must be found for every limitation of the claim somewhere in an accused device, but not necessarily in a corresponding component, although that is generally the case.” Id. at 1259. Substantial evidence exists to support a finding that the component order switch-network-plug of the invention is indistinguishable electrically from the component order in the Lucas devices. The testimony went so far as to suggest that even an electrical designer with less than ordinary skill in the art would have found the switch-plug-network and switch-network-plug component orders to be electrically interchangeable. The paucity of differences between Lucas’s devices and the claimed invention falls at the heart of the rationale for the doctrine of equivalents — to avoid placing “the inventor at the mercy of verbalism and ... subordinating substance to form,” Graver Tank & Mfg. Co. v. Linde Air Prods. Co., 339 U.S. 605, 607, 70 S.Ct. 854, 856, 94 L.Ed. 1097 (1950). Lucas makes one feeble attempt to attach a function to the order switch, network, plug. Although Lucas never presented this theory to the jury, Lucas now claims the network must fall between the switch and plug to waveshape the current flowing from the capacitor. This contention is based on bits and pieces of arguably relevant testimony that the jury could justifiably disregard. Nor does this argument suggest that a finding of infringement is against the clear weight of the evidence. No witness attached importance to the placement of the network relative to the capacitor; contrary to Lucas’s brief, one must take Lucas expert Schlect’s testimony far out of context to argue that he meant placement of the network is meaningful to anything other than a literal interpretation of the ’252 patent. See, e.g., D.I. 401 at 2021. Lucas’s citation to the element of the claim before the ‘interposed between’ element also adds nothing. It simply describes how the switch operates; it does not suggest that current must flow through the network prior to reaching the plug so as to waveshape. Most importantly, all testimony indicated that the ordering of the switch, network, and plug made no difference in the electrical function and output of the circu