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The Intellectual Property StrategistColumns & DepartmentsIntellectual PropertyLitigationPatent Litigation

IP News

By George Soussou and Jeff Ginsberg

More Than a Recitation of Hooke's Law Needed for Patent Protection

On Oct. 3, 2019, a Federal Circuit panel of Judges Dyk, Moore, and Taranto issued a decision in American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. v. Neapco Holdings LLC, No. 2018-1763 (Fed. Cir. 2019). Judges Dyk and Taranto filed the majority opinion, and Judge Moore filed a dissenting opinion. The Federal Circuit affirmed the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, finding that the claims of U.S. Patent No. 7,774,911 ("the '911 patent") were unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §101.

American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM) sued Neapco Holdings LLC and Neapco Drivelines LLC (collectively, Neapco) for infringement of the '911 patent. See, id. at 2. The '911 patent is generally directed to "a method for manufacturing driveline propeller shafts ("propshafts") with liners that are designed to 'attenuat[e] … vibrations transmitted through a shaft assembly.'" Id. at 3 (citing '911 patent, col. 1, ll. 6-7). The vibrations of a propshaft cause undesirable noise, and various prior art references attempted to dampen the vibrations. See, id. at 3-4.

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