Special Devices, Inc. v. OEA, INC.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF SPECIAL DEVICES, INC.’S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT OF INVALIDITY OF U.S. PATENT NO. 5,404,263 UNDER 35 U.S.C. § 102 (b)

I. Background

A. Factual Summary

This action is brought by Plaintiff Special Devices, Inc. (“Special Devices”) against OEA, Inc. (“OEA”) for declaratory relief of patent invalidity and non-infringement under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202. Before this Court is Special Device’s motion for partial summary judgment of invalidity of claims 1-9 of U.S. Patent No. 5,404,263 under 35 U.S.C. § 102 (b).

The following relevant facts are not disputed:

The subject matter of United States Patent No. 5,404,263 (“the ’263 patent”) is an all-glass header used in air-bag initiators, the small device that sets off, or “initiates,” the explosion that results in the expansion of a vehicle’s air bag.

The ’263 patent includes 24 claims. Claims 1-9 are “device” claims and each reads directly on the header shown in Figure 3 of the ’263 patent. Claim 1 is an independent claim and claims 2-9 depend directly or indirectly from claim 1 and add only minor limitations to claim 1. Claims 10-24 are “method claims” directed to the method of making an all-glass…