Federal Circuit Finds In Favor Of SMC Affirming Summary Judgment Of Obviousness

For Immediate Release

January 9, 2009

Alexandria, VA - The United States Court Of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the decision by the United States District Court for the Central District of California in favor of SMC Corporation finding the asserted claims of Tokyo Keiso Company, Ltd.’s U.S. Patent No. 5,458,004 invalid as obvious. The January 9, 2009 ruling determined that the California district court did not err in holding the claims obvious as a matter of law.

United States District Judge Otis D. Wright II issued his decision granting SMC’s motion for summary judgment of obviousness on October 18, 2007. He found that the asserted claims of Tokyo Keiso’s patent directed to an ultrasonic flowmeter were invalid over the prior art cited by SMC.

SMC is represented in this matter by Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C., Alexandria, Virginia.

Tokyo Keiso is represented by Fenwick & West LLP, San Francisco, California.

Assisting clients for 40 years, Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier & Neustadt, P.C. is one of the largest intellectual property specialty firms in the United States. The firm provides a full range of intellectual property services, including litigation matters in all courts, as well as trademark, copyright and patent interference services.

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