Ormco Corp. v. Align Tech, Inc.

Ormco Corporation and its subsidiary, Allesee Orthodontic Appliances, Inc. (collectively “Ormco”), appeal from the judgment of the United States District Court for the Central District of California finding, inter alia, that claims 1-3 and 7 of Align Corporation’s (“Align’s”) U.S. Patent No. 6,554,611 (the ‘611 patent) and claims 10 and 17 of Align’s U.S. Patent No. 6,398,548 (the ‘548 patent) are infringed by Ormco’s “Red, White & Blue” (“RW&B”) orthodontic product; that those claims are not invalid; and that Align did not engage in inequitable conduct during prosecution of the ‘611 and ‘548 patents. We reverse the district court’s grant of summary judgment that the patents are not invalid, and hold that all six claims would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a) (2000). We therefore need not reach the district court’s finding of infringement. We also need not reach the issue of inequitable conduct because Ormco has agreed that the court need not address the issue of inequitable conduct if the claims are held invalid.

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