Rockwell International Cor v. SDL, Inc.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

On May 22, 1995, plaintiffs Rockwell International Corporation and Rockwell Science Center, Inc. (collectively “Rockwell”) filed this action against SDL, Inc. (“SDL”) alleging infringement of United States Patent Number 4,368,098 (“the ’098 patent”). Rockwell now moves for partial summary judgment that claims 19, 30, 50, 56, and 72 are not invalid under 35 U.S.C. section 102 . On a cross-motion for summary judgment, SDL seeks a ruling that, except for the elements identified by Rockwell in its present motion, all of the elements of claims 19, 30, 50, 56, and 72 are located in two prior art references.

BACKGROUND

I. Scientific Overview

The ’098 patent claims a process for making “III-V semiconductors.” This process opened the door to significant improvements in opto-electronic, photonic, and laser technologies. The process involves “chemical vapor deposition,” in which a thin film of a material is grown by transporting the constituent components of that material in a gaseous state and depositing them on a surface called a “substrate.”

The ’098 patent discloses a special type of chemical vapor deposition known as metal organic chemical vapor deposition…