MAG Aerospace Indus., Inc v. B/E Aerospace, Inc., No. 15-1370 (Fed. Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseMAG Aerospace alleged that B/E Aerospace infringed its patents for quick-repair vacuum toilets, such as those commonly found on commercial aircrafts. The district court granted summary judgment of noninfringement on all patents and ruled that the doctrine of assignor estoppel barred B/E from arguing that the asserted patents are invalid. The Federal Circuit affirmed, upholding the district court’s finding that B/E’s toilet bowl cannot be replaced “toollessly” as required by one challenged patent; its construction of “outturned flange supported by the top of the support structure;” and its finding concerning “valve sets.” One of the inventors of the patents-in-suit, Pondelick, now works for B/E. Pondelick assigned the patents to his former employer, who in turn assigned them to MAG. The district court correctly concluded that Pondelick was in privity with B/E so that assignor estoppel applies to bar B/E from attacking the validity of the patents.
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