SYNVASIVE CORP. v. Stryker Corp.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER RE: MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Currently before the court are defendant Stryker Corporation’s motions for summary judgment of' noninfringement and of invalidity of three patents held by plaintiff Synvasive Corporation, and plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment of infringement of two specific claims of two of its patents.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff Synvasive is the assignee of U.S. Patents 6,022,353 (“the '353 patent”), 6,503,253 (“the 253 patent”), and 6^723,101 (“the '101 patent”), all of which relate to surgical saw blades and related methods of using surgical saw blades, and are based on a patent application filed with the Pat ent and Trademark Office (“PTO”) on May 30, 1991. (Pl.’s Opp’n to Mot. for Summ. J. of Invalidity 5.) The '101 and '253 patents are continuations of the '353 patent; thus, although the claims in the three patents differ, they share a common specification. (Id.) The '353 patent issued on February 8, 2000; the '253 patent issued on January 7, 2003; and the '101 patent issued on April 20, 2004. (05-1515 Compl. ¶¶ 5,7; 06-0049 Compl. ¶ 5.) A figure from the '353 patent is included below; it depicts one…