Comcast Cable Communications Corp. v. Finisar Corp.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT OF INVALIDITY

INTRODUCTION

In this patent-infringement action, plaintiff moves for summary adjudication on the grounds of invalidity and non-infringement. For the reasons stated below, plaintiffs motion for summary judgment of invalidity is Granted. This order therefore need not address plaintiffs motion for summary judgment of non-infringement.

STATEMENT

Plaintiff Comcast Cable Communications Corporation LLC, provides cable, information, and entertainment services. It has operated and managed cable networks since 1963. Defendant Finisar Corporation provides fiber-optic subsystems and network-performance test systems. Finisar is the assignee of United States Patent No. 5,404,505, which issued in 1995.

This action commenced when defendant Finisar sent a series of three letters to plaintiff Comcast alerting it to the existence of the ’505 patent. Finisar stated that it was interested in negotiating a license with Comcast. The first letter was fairly innocuous. The final letter included an ominous statement regarding a multimillion-dollar verdict Finisar had recently won in another action asserting the ’505 patent against…