Kuen Hwa Traffic Industrial Co. v. DNA Motor, Inc.

I. INTRODUCTION

On June 27, 2018, Kuen Hwa Traffic Industrial Co. (“Plaintiff”) filed the instant action against DNA Motor, Inc. (“Defendant”). The Complaint asserts that Plaintiff is the owner of United States Design Patent No. D791,987, entitled “Vehicle Headlight” (hereinafter referred to as, “the ‘987 Patent” or “the patent in suit”), and alleges two claims against Defendant: (1) patent infringement, in violation of 35 U.S.C. § 271(a); and (2) willful infringement. Plaintiff contends that Defendant sold two models of headlights, identified as model Gen 1 and model Gen 2 (“the accused products”), that infringe the ‘987 Patent. Plaintiff seeks actual damages and a permanent injunction. On August 16, 2018, Defendant answered the complaint and filed a counterclaim. Defendant’s answer included eighteen affirmative defenses. On September 21, 2018, Defendant filed a first amended counterclaim seeking declaratory judgment that the ‘987 Patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 102(a) and § 103. After pretrial motions, there were five issues to resolve at trial: (1) patent ownership; (2) infringement; (3) willful infringement; (4) remedies; and (5) invalidity.1 A bench trial was held on…