K-TEC, Inc. v. Vita-Mix Corp., No. 11-1244 (Fed. Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseK-TEC, a company that manufactures and sells commercial blending equipment, owns U.S. Patents 117 842, which generally disclose and claim a blending system that contains a blending jar with a specific geometry. The benefit of the claimed geometry is that it alters the flow pattern of the liquid during blending in a way that reduces cavitation, which occurs when a pocket of air envelops the area surrounding the blender blade during blending. The 117 patent is the parent of the 842 patent. The district court concluded that the patents were not invalid, that two prior references were not analogous for purposes of showing obviousness, that Vita-Mix willfully infringed, and that K-TEC was entitled to about $11 million in reasonable royalty and lost profit damages. The Federal Circuit affirmed the decision as supported by the evidence.
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