PUBLIC VERSION

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.

In the Matter of

CERTAIN CONVERTIBLE SOFAS AND INV. NO. 337-TA-1122

COMPONENTS THEREOF

INITIAL DETERMINATION ON VIOLATION OF SECTION 337 AND

RECOMMENDED DETERMINATION ON REMEDY AND BOND

Administrative Law Judge Clark S. Cheney

(July 12, 2019)

Appearances:

For the Complainant Sauder Manufacturing Company.:

Thomas N. Young, Esq. and Michelle W. Klancnik, Esq. of Young Basile Hanlon &
MacFarlane, P.C. of Troy, Michigan.

For the Respondent Krug, Inc.:

John E. Carlson, Esq., Steven Susser, Esq., Timothy J. Murphy, Esq., and Jessica Zilberberg,
Esq., of Carlson Gaskey & Olds, PC, of Birmingham, Michigan.

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Table of Contents
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 6
A. Procedural History ........................................................................................................... 6
B. The Parties ....................................................................................................................... 6
1. Complainant Sauder Manufacturing Company. ........................................................... 6
2. Respondent Krug, Inc. .................................................................................................. 7
C. The Asserted Patent ......................................................................................................... 7
D. The Accused Products...................................................................................................... 9
E. The Domestic Industry Products .................................................................................... 10
II. Jurisdiction & Importation ................................................................................................ 10
A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction ............................................................................................ 10
B. Personal Jurisdiction ...................................................................................................... 10
C. In Rem Jurisdiction ........................................................................................................ 11
D. Importation..................................................................................................................... 11
E. Standing ......................................................................................................................... 11
III. Legal Principles ................................................................................................................ 11
A. Claim Construction ........................................................................................................ 11
B. Validity .......................................................................................................................... 13
1. Written Description and New Matter ......................................................................... 14
C. Infringement ................................................................................................................... 15
D. Domestic Industry .......................................................................................................... 16
1. Economic Prong ......................................................................................................... 16
2. Technical Prong .......................................................................................................... 17
IV. The ’576 Design Patent ..................................................................................................... 17
A. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art .................................................................................. 17
B. Claim Construction ........................................................................................................ 18
C. Infringement ................................................................................................................... 18
1. Comparing the Two Designs ...................................................................................... 18
2. Anecdotal Evidence of Confusion .............................................................................. 29
3. Prosecution History Estoppel ..................................................................................... 31
4. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 34
D. Validity .......................................................................................................................... 34
1. Written Description .................................................................................................... 34

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2. Prior Art ...................................................................................................................... 55

V. Domestic Industry ............................................................................................................. 55
A. Technical Prong ............................................................................................................. 56
B. Economic Prong ............................................................................................................. 57
VI. Conclusions of Law .......................................................................................................... 58
VII. Recommended Determination on Remedy & Bond ......................................................... 58
A. Findings of Fact Relevant to Remedy and Bond ........................................................... 59
B. Limited Exclusion Order................................................................................................ 59
C. Cease and Desist Order .................................................................................................. 59
D. Bond During Presidential Review ................................................................................. 60
VIII. Initial Determination ......................................................................................................... 63

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TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS

COB Complainant’s Opening Brief

CMB Complainant’s Opening Markman Brief

CRB Complainant’s Reply Brief

CRMB Complainant’s Reply Markman Brief

CX Complainant’s exhibit

CXM Complainant’s Markman exhibit

Dep. Deposition

PTO Patent and Trademark Office

ROB Respondent’s Opening Brief

RMB Respondent’s Opening Markman Brief

RRB Respondent’s Reply Brief

RRMB Respondent’s Reply Markman Brief

RX Respondent’s exhibit

RXM Respondent’s Markman exhibit

Tr. Evidentiary Hearing Transcript

VR Respondent’s Verified Response to the Complaint

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UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C.

In the Matter of

CERTAIN CONVERTIBLE SOFAS AND INV. NO. 337-TA-1122

COMPONENTS THEREOF

INITIAL DETERMINATION ON VIOLATION OF SECTION 337 AND

RECOMMENDED DETERMINATION ON REMEDY AND BOND

Administrative Law Judge Clark S. Cheney

(July 12, 2019)

Pursuant to the Notice of Investigation, 83 Fed. Reg. 32686 (July 13, 2018), this is the final

Initial Determination in the matter of Certain Convertible Sofas and Components, Investigation

No. 337-TA-1122. 19 C.F.R. §§ 210.10(b), 210.42(a)(1)(i).

For the reasons stated herein, I have determined that no violation of section 337 of the

Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, has occurred in the importation into the United States, the sale for

importation, or the sale within the United States after importation of certain convertible sofas and

components thereof alleged to infringe U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576 (‘‘the ’576 patent’’).

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I. INTRODUCTION

A. Procedural History

On June 7, 2018, complainant Sauder Manufacturing Company (“Sauder”) filed a

complaint alleging violations of section 337 based upon the importation into the United States, the

sale for importation, and the sale within the United States after importation of certain convertible

sofas and components thereof by reason of infringement of U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576 (“the

’576 patent”). 83 Fed. Reg. 27627 (Jun. 13, 2018).

On July 13, 2018, the Commission instituted this investigation to determine whether there

is a violation of subsection (a)(1)(B) of section 337 based on infringement of the ’576 patent and

whether an industry in the United States exists as required by subsection (a)(2) of section 337.

83 Fed. Reg. 32686.

The named respondent is Krug, Inc. (“Krug”), of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. See id.

The Commission investigative staff is not a party to this investigation.

On November 9, 2018, the parties jointly stipulated to receive a final initial determination

based on argument and evidence submitted in the form of briefs and exhibits, without live

testimony. EDIS Doc. ID 661505. I convened a hearing on March 19, 2019, in accordance with

the parties’ stipulation. At the hearing, counsel for both parties presented arguments, discussed

the evidence, and answered questions concerning the allegedly infringing convertible sofas and

legal issues raised in the pleadings.

B. The Parties

1. Complainant Sauder Manufacturing Company.

Complainant Sauder is an Ohio corporation, with its principle place of business located at

930 West Barre Road, Archbold, Ohio, 43502. Compl. at ¶ 17. Sauder is the owner by assignment

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of the asserted patents in this investigation. See CX-0001 (“the ’576 patent”) at Cover; CX-0002

at SMC-007646 (assignment record).

2. Respondent Krug, Inc.

Krug, Inc, is a corporation organized under the laws of the Province of Ontario, with places

of business at 111 Ahrens Street and 421 Manitou Drive in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2C IL5.

See VR at ¶ 23.

C. The Asserted Patent

Sauder asserts one patent in this investigation: U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576. The ’576

patent, entitled “Sofa with Adjustable Table,” issued to Blair Wieland and Joel D. Alberda on

November 4, 2014. The patent issued from Application Number 29/406,320, filed on November

11, 2011, and claims priority to application No. 13/168,438, filed on June 24, 2011. The patent,

on its face, is assigned to Sauder. ’576 patent at cover; see also CX-0002 at SMC-007646

(assignment record).

The ’576 patent is directed to the ornamental design for a sofa with an adjustable table.

See, e.g., ’576 patent at Abstract. The claim comprises 9 figures. The following figures are

representative of the claim:

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’576 patent at Figs. 3, 8. 1

1
In an apparent error by the Patent Office, the ’576 patent issued with a selection of the
originally filed drawings, not certain amended drawings the applicant submitted during
prosecution. At Sauder’s request, the Patent Office issued a Certificate of Correction with the
amended drawings. ’576 patent at SMC-007875-007879 (request for Certificate of Correction)
and SMC-007879-007901 (Certificate of Correction).

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D. The Accused Products

The accused products are the Amelio line of sofas manufactured by respondent Krug.

83 Fed. Reg. 32686 (July 13, 2018). The accused sofas “include the unitary combination of two

upholstered seating areas, each bordered on the lateral end with a vertical armrest, such areas being

separated by a flat table member that can be placed substantially level with the seating areas as

well as raised above the level of the seating areas to various degrees to provide an open space

beneath the table and for the full width of the table.” Id. In addition, the accused products include

“a full width integral backrest that can be folded down on top of the seats and table to provide a

sleep/rest surface.” Id. The following photograph of a Krug Amelio sofa is exemplary:

CX-0004.

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E. The Domestic Industry Products

Sauder contends that its sleepToo® sofas practice the design claimed in the ’576 patent in

satisfaction of the technical prong of the domestic industry requirement. COB at 30-34. The

following photograph shows a sleepToo® sofa:

CX-0006.

II. JURISDICTION & IMPORTATION

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Section 337 confers subject matter jurisdiction on the Commission to investigate, and if

appropriate, to provide a remedy for, unfair acts and unfair methods of competition in the

importation, the sale for importation, or the sale after importation of articles into the United States.

See 19 U.S.C. §§ 1337(a)(1)(B) and (a)(2). Sauder filed a complaint alleging a violation of section

337(a). Accordingly, the Commission has subject matter jurisdiction over this investigation under

section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. See Amgen, Inc. v. Int’l. Trade Comm’n, 902 F.2d 1532,

1536 (Fed. Cir. 1990).

B. Personal Jurisdiction

Krug has appeared and participated in this investigation. The Commission therefore has

personal jurisdiction over Krug. See, e.g., Certain Optical Disk Controller Chips & Chipsets &

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Prods. Containing Same, Including DVD Players & PC Optical Storage Devices, Inv. No.

337-TA-506, ID at 4-5 (May 16, 2005) (unreviewed in relevant part).

C. In Rem Jurisdiction

Krug does not dispute that the Commission has in rem jurisdiction over the accused Krug

Amelio sleep sofas that have been imported into the United States. See VR at ¶ 24. Accordingly,

the Commission has in rem jurisdiction over the accused Krug Amelio sleep sofas. See Sealed Air

Corp. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 645 F.2d 976, 985-86 (C.C.P.A. 1981) (noting that the Commission

has jurisdiction over imported goods); Certain Crawler Cranes and Components Thereof, Inv. No.

337-TA-887, Comm’n Op. at 17 (May 6, 2015) (an article “sold for importation” can confer

jurisdiction on the Commission for that article).

D. Importation

Krug has admitted that it “imports and/or arranges for the importation of [the accused

products] into the United States . . . for . . . sale.” VR at ¶ 24. Accordingly, the importation

requirement is satisfied as to the accused Krug Amelio sleep sofas.

E. Standing

The evidence of record demonstrates that Sauder has standing to bring its complaint based

on its ownership by assignment of the asserted patents. See ’576 patent at Cover; CX-0002 at

SMC-007646. This is undisputed by Krug. See VR at ¶ 28. Accordingly, I find that Sauder has

standing in this investigation.

III. LEGAL PRINCIPLES

A. Claim Construction

“An infringement analysis entails two steps. The first step is determining the meaning and

scope of the patent claims asserted to be infringed. The second step is comparing the properly

construed claims to the device accused of infringing.” Markman v. Westview Instruments, Inc.,

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52 F.3d 967, 976 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (en banc) (internal citations omitted), aff’d, 517 U.S. 370 (1996).

Claim construction resolves legal disputes between the parties regarding claim scope. See Eon

Corp. IP Holdings v. Silver Spring Networks, 815 F.3d 1314, 1319 (Fed. Cir. 2016).

The meaning of a design patent claim “is better represented by an illustration than it could

be by any description and a description would probably not be intelligible without the illustration.”

Egyptian Goddess, Inc. v. Swisa, Inc., 543 F.3d 665, 679 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (en banc). For a design

patent claim comprising line drawings, the claimed ornamental features are depicted in full black

lines (i.e., solid lines). Application of Blum, 374 F.2d 904, 906 (C.C.P.A. 1967); 37 C.F.R. § 1.152

(providing design patent drawing conventions). Broken and dotted lines are generally disclaimed,

reflecting “an immaterial part of the design as to specific shape or configuration” or general

environment. Blum, 374 F.2d at 906; see also Contessa Food Prod., Inc. v. Conagra, Inc., 282

F.3d 1370, 1378 (Fed. Cir. 2002) (“If features appearing in the figures are not desired to be

claimed, the patentee is permitted to show the features in broken lines to exclude those features

from the claimed design, and the failure to do so signals inclusion of the features in the claimed

design.”) (internal citations omitted) (abrogated on other grounds).

While “the preferable course ordinarily will be for a … court not to attempt to ‘construe’ a

design patent claim by providing a detailed verbal description of the claimed design,” a “court’s

decision regarding the level of detail to be used in describing the claimed design is a matter within

the court’s discretion” and is not reversible error absent a showing of prejudice. Egyptian Goddess,

543 F.3d at 680. Although the Federal Circuit has made clear that wordy construction of a design

claim is disfavored, it may be helpful for a factfinder in a bench trial to describe “various features

of the claimed design as they relate to the accused design” when explaining an infringement

analysis. Id.

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When evaluating the scope of a patent’s claims, evidence intrinsic to the application,

prosecution, and issuance of a patent is the most significant source of the legally operative meaning

of a claim. See Bell Atl. Network Servs., Inc. v. Covad Commc’ns Grp., Inc., 262 F.3d 1258, 1267

(Fed. Cir. 2001). The intrinsic evidence includes the patent claim, the specification, and the

prosecution history. See Phillips v. AWH Corp, 415 F.3d 1303, 1314 (Fed. Cir. 2005) (en banc);

see also Markman, 52 F.3d at 979.

“It is a ‘bedrock principle’ of patent law that ‘the claims of a patent define the invention to

which the patentee is entitled the right to exclude.” Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1312 (quoting

Innova/Pure Water, Inc. v. Safari Water Filtration Sys., Inc., 381 F.3d 1111, 1115 (Fed. Cir.

2004)). For a design patent, “it is the drawings of the design patent that provide the description of

the invention.” In re Daniels, 144 F.3d 1452, 1456 (Fed. Cir. 1998).

When the intrinsic evidence does not establish the meaning of a claim, then extrinsic

evidence (i.e., all evidence external to the patent and the prosecution history, including

dictionaries, inventor testimony, expert testimony, and learned treatises) may be considered.

Phillips at 1317. Extrinsic evidence is generally viewed as less reliable than the patent itself and

its prosecution history in determining how to define claim terms. Id. “The court may receive

extrinsic evidence to educate itself about the invention and the relevant technology, but the court

may not use extrinsic evidence to arrive at a claim construction that is clearly at odds with the

construction mandated by the intrinsic evidence.” Elkay Mfg. Co. v. Ebco Mfg. Co., 192 F.3d 973,

977 (Fed. Cir. 1999).

B. Validity

A patent is presumed valid. See 35 U.S.C. § 282; Microsoft Corp. v. i4i Ltd. P’ship, 131

S. Ct. 2238, 2242 (2011). A respondent who has raised patent invalidity as an affirmative defense

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has the burden of overcoming this presumption by clear and convincing evidence. See Microsoft,

131 S. Ct. at 2242.

1. Written Description and New Matter

Since the Patent Act of 1793, the patent laws have required a patent specification to contain

a written description of the invention in full, clear, concise, and exact terms. Vas-Cath Inc. v.

Mahurkar, 935 F.2d 1555, 1561 (Fed. Cir. 1991). The written description requirement persists

today in 35 U.S.C. § 112. The test for sufficiency of the written description “is the same for either

a design or a utility patent.” In re Owens, 710 F.3d 1362, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2013). The factfinder

must determine “whether the disclosure of the application relied upon reasonably conveys to those

skilled in the art that the inventor had possession of the claimed subject matter as of the filing

date.” Ariad Pharm., Inc. v. Eli Lilly & Co., 598 F.3d 1336, 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (en banc). In

design patents, the drawings provide the written description of the invention. In re Daniels,

144 F.3d at 1456; In re Klein, 987 F.2d 1569, 1571 (Fed. Cir. 1993) (“[U]sual[ly] in design

applications, there is no description other than the drawings.”).

The written description requirement “most often comes into play where claims not

presented in the application when filed are presented thereafter.” Vas-Cath Inc. v. Mahurkar, 935

F.2d 1555, 1560 (Fed. Cir. 1991). If the original disclosure found in a patent application at the

time of filing is not sufficiently detailed to enable one of skill in the art to recognize that the

applicant invented what is claimed, the claim is invalid for an inadequate written description.

TurboCare Div. of Demag Delaval Turbomachinery Corp. v. Gen. Elec. Co., 264 F.3d 1111,

1119-20 (Fed. Cir. 2001). Compliance with the “written description” requirement of § 112 is a

question of fact. Vas-Cath Inc., 935 F.2d at 1563.

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C. Infringement

In a section 337 investigation, the complainant bears the burden of proving infringement

of the asserted patent claims by a preponderance of the evidence. See Spansion, Inc. v.

International Trade Com’n, 629 F.3d 1331, 1349 (Fed. Cir. 2010). This standard “requires proving

that infringement was more likely than not to have occurred.” Warner-Lambert Co. v. Teva

Pharm. USA, Inc., 418 F.3d 1326, 1341 n.15 (Fed. Cir. 2005).

To show infringement of a design patent, the patentee must show that the accused product

practices a design that is “substantially the same” as the patented design according to an “ordinary

observer.” Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 670 (citing Gorham Co. v. White, 81 U.S. 511, 528

(1871)). For purposes of design patents, an “ordinary observer” is one who is familiar with the

prior art. Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 677.

This test requires consideration of whether, “in the eye of an ordinary observer, giving such

attention as a purchaser usually gives,” the two designs “are substantially the same.” Id.

Infringement occurs when the resemblance of the two designs “is such as to deceive such an

observer and sufficient to induce him to purchase one supposing it to be the other.” Id. Such

deception must be “by reason of the common features in the claimed and accused designs which

are ornamental.” See OddzOn Prods. v. Just Toys, 122 F.3d 1396, 1405 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (emphasis

added). When an element of a design serves a functional purpose, the fact finder should not focus

on the particular design of the functional element when determining infringement, but rather focus

on what the functional element contributes to the design’s overall ornamentation. Sport

Dimension, Inc. v. Coleman Co., 820 F.3d 1316, 1323 (Fed. Cir. 2016); see also Ethicon Endo-

Surgery, Inc. v. Covidien, Inc., 796 F.3d 1312, 1336 (Fed. Cir. 2015) (“because each . . .

component[] has a functional aspect, the underlying elements must be excluded from the scope of

the design claims at this general conceptual level.”); Richardson v. Stanley Works, Inc., 597 F.3d
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1288, 1293-94 (Fed. Cir. 2010) (“If the patented design is primarily functional rather than

ornamental, the patent is invalid. However, when the design also contains ornamental aspects, it

is entitled to a design patent whose scope is limited to those aspects alone and does not extend to

any functional elements of the claimed article.”) (internal citations omitted).

D. Domestic Industry

For a patent-based complaint, a violation of section 337 can be found “only if an industry

in the United States, relating to the articles protected by the patent . . . concerned, exists or is in

the process of being established.” 19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(2). This domestic industry requirement of

section 337 is often described as having an economic prong and a technical prong. InterDigital

Commc’ns, LLC v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 707 F.3d 1295, 1298 (Fed. Cir. 2013); Certain Stringed

Musical Instruments and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-TA-586, Comm’n Op. at 12-14,

USITC Pub. No. 4120 (Dec. 2009). The complainant bears the burden of establishing that the

domestic industry requirement is satisfied. John Mezzalingua Assocs., Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n,

660 F.3d 1322, 1331 (Fed. Cir. 2011).

1. Economic Prong

Section 337(a)(3) sets forth the following economic criteria for determining the existence

of a domestic industry in such investigations:

(3) For purposes of paragraph (2), an industry in the United States

shall be considered to exist if there is in the United States, with
respect to the articles protected by the patent, copyright, trademark,
mask work, or design concerned

(A) significant investment in plant and equipment;

(B) significant employment of labor or capital; or

(C) substantial investment in its exploitation, including

engineering, research and development, or licensing.

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19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(3). Given that the statutory criteria are listed in the disjunctive, satisfaction

of any one of them will be sufficient to meet the economic prong of the domestic industry

requirement. See Certain Variable Speed Wind Turbines and Components Thereof, Inv. No. 337-

TA-376, Comm’n Op. at 15, USITC Pub. 3003 (Nov. 1996).

2. Technical Prong

The technical prong of the domestic industry requirement is satisfied when the complainant

in a patent-based section 337 investigation establishes that it is practicing or exploiting the patents

at issue. See 19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(2) and (3); Certain Microsphere Adhesives, Process for Making

Same and Prods. Containing Same, Including Self-Stick Repositionable Notes, Inv. No.

337-TA-366, Comm’n Op. at 8 (Jan. 16, 1996). “The test for satisfying the ‘technical prong’ of

the industry requirement is essentially [the] same as that for infringement, i.e., a comparison of

domestic products to the asserted claims.” Alloc, Inc. v. Int’l Trade Comm’n, 342 F.3d 1361, 1375

(Fed. Cir. 2003). To prevail, the patentee must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that

the domestic product practices one or more claims of the patent. See Certain Male Prophylactic

Devices, Inv. No. 337-TA-546, Comm’n Op. at 38 (Aug. 1, 2007).

IV. THE ’576 DESIGN PATENT

A. Level of Ordinary Skill in the Art

Krug’s expert opined that a person of ordinary skill in the art in the relevant field “would

have (1) at least a B.A. degree in design, art, or equivalent degree, and (2) at least two years’

experience designing, developing or testing furniture, such as sofas.” CX-0040 (Expert Report of

Ronald Kemnitzer) at SMC-008678. Sauder’s employee Mr. Wieland contended that “the relevant

art is convertible sleep sofas for the healthcare field,” CX-0013 at SMC-008019, while Sauder’s

expert Mr. Gallant opined it was “upholstered furniture design and particularly the design of

furniture including sofas for the healthcare field.” CX-0015 at SMC-008042. Neither party has

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argued that the level of skill is material to any dispute between the parties. To the extent that it is

material, I adopt the level of skill advanced by Krug because it is reasonable.

B. Claim Construction

I will follow “the preferable course” and not attempt a detailed verbal construction of the

design patent here, as the meaning of the ’576 patent claim “is better represented by [the]

illustration than it could be by any description and a description would probably not be intelligible

without the illustration.” See Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 679. I will, however, “point out . . .

various features of the claimed design as they relate to the accused design” to articulate my

infringement, validity, and domestic industry analyses below. Id. at 680.

C. Infringement

Sauder asserts that the Krug Amelio sofa model infringes the design patent claim of the

’576 patent. COB at 10-28. Krug disagrees. ROB at 32-49. As explained below, I find that

Sauder has not proved infringement.

1. Comparing the Two Designs

Sauder bears the burden of showing infringement of its design patent under the standard

laid out in Gorham Co. v. White, 81 U.S. 511, 528 (1871). This requires a showing that “in the

eye of an ordinary observer” familiar with the prior art, “giving such attention as a purchaser

usually gives” the accused design and the claimed design “are substantially the same.” Egyptian

Goddess, 543 F.3d at 670 and 677. Sauder “must establish that an ordinary person would be

deceived by reason of the common features in the claimed and accused designs which are

ornamental.” OddzOn Prod., Inc, 122 F.3d at 1405. As the finder of fact, I must undertake this

comparison as the ordinary observer familiar with the prior art. Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at

677. The ordinary person relevant here would be a buyer of hospital furniture, often an interior

designer hired by a hospital for the purpose of furnishing patient rooms. See CX-0016 at ¶ 2-5.

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The design of the accused Krug sofa is quite different. The arms extend all the way to the

front face of the seat. The seat cushions are rectangular, not L-shaped, and the cushions do not

wrap around the front face of the arm, as illustrated below:

CX-0004 at SMC-000045-56.

Sauder asserts that the different arm and cushion configuration “essentially disappears

when the sofas are viewed from the front.” CMB at 15. I reject that contention for several reasons.

First, an ordinary observer would not view a sofa only from the front. In fact, a sofa is most often

viewed from above; its features are lower than the eye level of a standing observer and of a user

seated on it. When viewed from above, the difference in seat shape between the two designs is

quite prominent. An L-shaped cushion is visually quite different from a rectangular cushion. One

inventor, Mr. Wieland, opined at some length in this investigation about the shape of the cushion

in the patented design. CX-0013 at ¶¶ 24-29. Sauder’s expert Mr. Gallant also stated that shape

is important to understanding a design. CX-0015 at ¶ 7; CX-0043 at ¶¶ 7, 13. Although Sauder

claims the difference disappears, I find an ordinary observer would be aware of the prominent

difference in cushion shape.

The difference in arm length between the two designs is also quite noticeable as viewed—

again most often from above—by an ordinary observer. The patented design shows the arm is set

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d) Other Differences

Krug identifies other differences between the design of its Amelio sofa and the patented

design with the following diagrams:

’576 patent, Figure 4 (annotations by Krug).

ROB at 36 (annotations by Krug). I have addressed above many of the differences identified by

Krug in these annotated figures. Other differences identified by Krug that I have not yet addressed

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include the profile of the Amelio table edge, the lack of a handle recess in the Amelio table edge,

the rounded corners of the Amelio table, the lack of a U-shaped cover on the Amelio table stem,

the lack of a center foot under the center of the Amelio, the lack of an actuator button the sofa arm,

and the inclusion of rigid vertical panels facing the area beneath the Amelio table. All of those

differences would contribute to the perception of whole of the Krug design. 2

e) Functional Elements of the Design

Much briefing and hearing argument was devoted to how I should evaluate elements of the

design claimed in the ’576 patent that serve a function. Specifically, Krug contends the following

elements of the patented design are functional:

• the height-adjustable center table;

• the rectangular shape (i.e., the depth and width) of the center table;

• the space beneath the center table;

• the central arrangement of the table between opposed seat cushions;

• the folding seat back; and

• the ottoman footrests and levers.

ROB at 17. Sauder admits that many of these elements are functional, but Sauder contends it

would be legal error to “factor out” these elements entirely when performing an infringement

2
I note that Krug also points to the junction line between the front face of the seat cushion and
the lower front face of the accused sofa as a distinction from the patented design shown in
Figures 1-5. I find that Figures 1-5 of the ’576 patent show no seam or junction at the location
where Krug’s seat cushion has one. I observe, however, that Figures 6-9 of the patented design
do show a junction between the front face of the seat cushion and the lower face of the sofa, a
point not addressed by Krug. While potentially relevant in other contexts, this particular
difference between the two sets of patent figures does not change my infringement analysis. The
numerous and substantial differences discussed infra combine to render the whole of the Amelio
design plainly dissimilar to the whole of the patented design, with or without consideration of a
front cushion junction.

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analysis. RX-0003 at 2-3 (responses to requests for admission); CX-0043 at ¶ 3 (second expert

report of Gallant); CRB at 2-3 (arguing functional elements cannot be “factored out” from an

infringement analysis).

Fortunately, I need not spill much ink over this issue because, at the end of the day, all

parties agree with Federal Circuit guidance that functional elements cannot be entirely factored

out of a patented design when performing an infringement analysis. See CRB at 3; ROB at 31, 40

n.8. When considering the patented design as a whole, a fact finder cannot ignore “the depicted

ornamental aspects” of functional elements appearing in the design claim, nor the “specific relative

positions and orientations” of those functional elements. See Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1334.

As Krug admits, there are ornamental aspects to the design elements it has characterized

as functional. For example, while Krug contends that the adjustable-height table shown in the

patent claim is functional, Krug also admits that the table has ornamental aspects, including the

thickness of the table surface, a groove in the table surface circling its perimeter, a recess in the

front edge of the table aligned with a handle for adjusting the table height, and a U-shaped cover

at the base of the table stem. ROB at 21-14. Similarly, while Krug contends the adjustment button

shown on the right armrest in the patent claim is functional, Krug also admits the shape and

arrangement of that button is ornamental. Id. at 25-26. In my infringement analysis, I considered

the ornamental aspects of every element that Krug has characterized as functional when evaluating

the disclosed design as a whole, including “specific relative positions and orientations” of those

functional elements. See Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1334.

f) Viewing Each Design as a Whole

On a general, conceptual level, both the patented design and the accused products are sofas

with a height-adjustable center table disposed between opposed seat cushions. But similarities at

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the general, conceptual level are “not sufficient to demonstrate infringement” of the claimed

design. See Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1336. Such conceptual similarities also do not foreclose a

conclusion that the patented design and the accused design are “plainly dissimilar.” See id.

And, in fact, the two designs at issue here are plainly dissimilar. As demonstrated above,

the differences between the patented design and the accused design are both numerous and

substantial. I have considered those differences “in the context of the claimed design as a whole,

and not in the context of separate elements in isolation.” Ethicon, 796 F.3d at 1335.

While I have illustrated my infringement analysis with a version of the Amelio sofa most

similar to the design shown in the ’576 patent figures, see id. at SMC-000045, I have considered

every Krug design in the record in my infringement analysis. Other Krug designs are even more

plainly dissimilar to the patented design than Amelio version with a center table. For example,

some Krug Amelio sofas lack a center table. See, e.g., id. at SMC-000045, -47, -48, -49, -52, -53.

Others lack arms. Id. at SMC-000054-55. Still others have arms that are noticeably wider than

the narrow arms in the claimed design. Id. at SMC-000047. An ordinary observer looking at these

alternative designs would find each of them to be plainly dissimilar to the patented design.

Krug also notes that some versions of the Amelio sofa have no arm caps, while every figure

of the patented design includes arm caps. I address arm caps in more detail in a separate section

of this determination, but it is sufficient here that I find that an ordinary observer would understand

the whole of the Amelio design is not substantially similar to the whole of the patented design with

or without consideration of arm caps. This is because the other differences between the two

designs identified above render the two designs “plainly dissimilar.” See Egyptian Goddess, 543

F.3d at 678. Those Amelio sofa models without arm caps are even more dissimilar than the

patented design.

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Viewing the patented design as a whole, I find that the accused designs are not

“substantially the same.” See Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 677.

2. Anecdotal Evidence of Confusion

In comparing the patented design to the accused design, I have been mindful that the

resemblance between the two must be “such as to deceive such an observer and sufficient to induce

him to purchase one supposing it to be the other.” Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 677. To bolster

its infringement claim, Sauder has submitted hearsay and anecdotal evidence that it characterizes

as evidence of consumer confusion between the two designs. See CX-0007C, Bontrager

Declaration at SMC-007923 (collecting double hearsay comments noting similarity in design);

CX-0008, Schneider Declaration at 3; CX-0009, Bontrager Declaration Attachments 2 and 3, at

SMC-007987-007988; CX-0016, Gish Declaration at ¶ 6. Sauder also offers statements from its

employees and a design expert retained for litigation that ordinary observers would likely confuse

the two designs. See CX-007C at SMC-007923; CX-0009, CX-0011 at ¶ 5, CX-0016 at ¶ 5. I have

considered that evidence in formulating my infringement findings, but, for the reasons explained

below, it does not weigh in favor of a finding of infringement.

First, statements made to Sauder saying that Krug’s products have “a very similar aesthetic

to” Sauder’s products, or that Krug’s products are “knock offs” of Sauder’s products demonstrate

that the authors of those statements understood that Krug’s products were not Sauder’s. The

authors were able to distinguish the two designs and were not “deceived” sufficiently to “purchase

one supposing it to be the other.” Egyptian Goddess, 543 F.3d at 677. Second, the record contains

no indicia that Sauder’s hearsay evidence is reliable, and I decline to credit it as reliable. Third,

Sauder’s hearsay evidence is anecdotal and does not represent a full spectrum of possible evidence.

Specifically, the communications Sauder provided only noted similarity. That makes some sense,

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because Sauder likely would never receive emails from ordinary buyers who found the Krug and

Sauder products to be dissimilar. Expert market analysis or a quantitative study of consumer

confusion could have provided more reliable evidence, but no such analysis was provided in this

investigation. Fourth, I give little weight to the statements of Sauder’s employees and retained

experts because they appear to be interested persons. For example, although Sauder calls Mr.

Wieland an “expert witness” (COB at 34), he is actually a long-time Sauder employee with a line

of Sauder furniture named after him. Tr. at 107:18-108:23.

The best evidence of confusion Sauder musters is an email from an interior designer,

Melissa Hall, containing a solicitation for bids to provide furniture to Goshen Hospital Circle of

Caring Birthplace. See CX-0045. The email specified many different pieces of furniture that

should be included in the bid, from sofas to chairs to tables. In text, the solicitation stated that

Sauder’s Wieland sleepToo® sofa should be included in bids, but one of the images in that section

of the document is a photograph of Krug’s Amelio Modular sofa. CX-0045 atSMC-008861. This

evidence is at best ambiguous. No one deposed Ms. Hall. No one asked her whether she made a

cut-and-paste error when constructing a document with dozens of pictures of different kinds of

furniture or whether she genuinely believed that the Krug Amelio Modular sofa was the Sauder

sleepToo® sofa. A Sauder employee, Stanley W. Schneider, submitted a conclusory statement

that it was his belief that Ms. Hall was confused into thinking one design was the other. CX-0046.

But Mr. Schneider provides no basis for his belief, and I give his statement no evidentiary weight.

Even if I could draw a conclusion that Ms. Hall was actually confused, the record contains

no evidence as to whether Ms. Hall was conflating the two products on functional or ornamental

grounds. See OddzOn, 122 F.3d at 1407 (“‘actual confusion’ evidence is of little probative value

because it does not establish whether the [the confusion was] because [of functional similarity] or

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Krug argues that because Sauder amended its original design patent claim to eliminate sofa

designs with soft top arms and left only figures showing sofas with arm caps, Sauder surrendered

any claim to a sofa design with soft top arms. ROB at 8-9. Krug contends that Sauder is therefore

estopped from asserting that the ’576 patent covers Amelio sofas with soft top arms. Id. Sauder

responds that the “only conclusion” to be drawn from the cancellation of all figures disclosing

soft-top arms “is that the attorney made the logical choice to show arm caps and delete the other

drawings to save space.” COB at 29.

Under Federal Circuit precedent, cancelling design drawings from a design patent claim

during prosecution can result in prosecution history estoppel. The leading case examining the

issue is Pac. Coast Marine Windshields Ltd. v. Malibu Boats, LLC, 739 F.3d 694 (Fed. Cir. 2014).

Application of the doctrine turns on a three-part inquiry: (1) whether there was a surrender of

claim scope; (2) whether the surrender was for reasons of patentability; and (3) whether the

accused design is within the scope of the surrender. Id. at 702. If the answer to all three questions

is affirmative, prosecution history estoppel bars the infringement claim. 3

To answer the first question about claim scope, I reviewed the figures of the originally filed

design claim and the applicants’ amendments to those figures during prosecution. Although many

of the original figures were unclear, as I discuss later, there is no dispute that the original design

claim disclosed sofa designs with soft top arms and sofa designs with capped arms. See CX-0003

at SMC-007655-99; COB at 28-29. The inventors cancelled figures showing sofas with soft top

arms at two different times during prosecution. See CX-0003 at SMC-007836 (examiner’s

3
In the utility patent context, prosecution history estoppel limits application of the doctrine of
equivalents and is not invoked in cases concerned only with literal infringement. Pac. Coast
Marine Windshields, 739 F.3d at 700. But because every infringement analysis for a design
patent claim “involves the concept of equivalents,” prosecution history estoppel is always a
potential defense in the design patent context. See id. at 701.

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summary of amendments). At the same time the inventors cancelled figures of sofas with soft top

arms, the inventors also amended the description of the figures to remove references to soft top

arms. See, e.g., SMC-007745. In the end, the issued design claim consisted exclusively of figures

showing a sofa design with arm caps. Because the inventors’ claim as originally filed included a

sofa design with soft top arms, but the issued claim of the ’576 patent did not, I find there was a

surrender of claim scope.

The second question I must answer is whether the inventors surrendered claim scope “in

order to secure the patent.” Pac. Coast Marine Windshields, 739 F.3d at 703. The first time the

inventors cancelled figures during prosecution was in response to a restriction requirement by the

examiner. CX-0003 at SMC-007754-56. The Federal Circuit has held that cancelling design

figures in response to a restriction requirement is a surrender of claim scope to secure the patent.

Pac. Coast Marine Windshields, 739 F.3d at 703.

The second time the inventors cancelled drawings was in response to an office action

objecting to the drawings on formal grounds and rejecting the drawings on statutory grounds.

CX-0003 at SMC-007802-03. Specifically, the examiner objected to a patent claim containing

both photographs and figures. Id. The examiner also rejected the drawings under 35 U.S.C. § 112

for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention:

The claim is indefinite and non-enabling because the drawings are too light in some
areas and too dark in other areas to clearly define the claimed subject matter. For example,
but not limited thereto, the shadows are so dark they obscure some structure, some areas
are so light that they do not clearly define edge lines or the like, and the hardware on various
elements is not clearly defined. The Applicant is cautioned the originally filed drawings
may be fatally defective because of these issues and is cautioned about submitting new
matter into the application in response to this rejection.

Id. After receiving this rejection based on potentially “fatally defective” figures, the inventors

cancelled all photographs, leaving only line drawings depicting sofa designs with arm caps. The

applicant told the examiner that by cancelling that second set of figures “the Examiner's objections
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to the print quality of the design drawings is overcome.” Id. at SMC-007828-29. Based on this

record, I find that the inventors cancelled the second set of figures in an effort to secure the patent.

The second prong of the estoppel test is satisfied because the amendments to the design patent

claim were made in order to secure the patent.

The third question is whether the accused Krug sofas are within the scope of the subject

matter the inventors surrendered. The answer is some are and some are not. The record shows

that Krug offers sofas with soft top arms and sofas with arm caps. See CX-0004 at SMC-000046,

-50, -55. The Krug sofas with soft top arms are within the scope of the subject matter the inventors

surrendered.

Krug has proved the three elements necessary for estoppel for at least those accused sofas

with soft top arms. Sauder is therefore barred from an infringement claim against Krug designs

with soft top arms.

4. Conclusion

In light of the foregoing evidence and the record as a whole, I find that Sauder has not

demonstrated infringement of the ’576 design patent claim.

D. Validity

1. Written Description

Krug asserts that the ’576 patent is invalid because the design claim, as issued, includes

new matter not present in the original patent application, in violation of the written description

requirement of 35 U.S.C. § 112. Particularly, Krug contends that certain solid lines appearing in

issued Figures 6 through 9 were added during prosecution and comprise ornamental elements not

apparent to one of skill in the art from the originally filed application. ROB at 51-63. Sauder

responds with legal and factual arguments. On the legal front, Sauder contends that the patent is

entitled to a presumption of validity and characterizes the addition of new lines as “procedural

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lapses” with no bearing on validity. CRB at 16-17. Factually, Sauder asserts that the originally

filed drawings provide written description support for the issued design claim. CRB at 15 n.9.

I begin by addressing Sauder’s legal contentions. Sauder argues that a patent claim cannot

be found invalid under § 112 in an infringement suit based upon the addition of new matter to that

claim during prosecution. Sauder argues that new matter case law applies § 112 only to prevent

an applicant from relying on an earlier priority date. CRB at 16-17. That argument ignores the

statutory mandate of the Patent Act, which provides that “invalidity of the patent or any claim in

suit for failure to comply with any requirement of sections 112 . . . of this title” shall be a defense

to infringement. 35 U.S.C. § 282(3). Sauder’s argument is also contrary to a great body of case

law invalidating amended claims under § 112 during infringement litigation because the claims

were not supported by the original application. See, e.g., Synthes USA, LLC v. Spinal Kinetics,

Inc., 734 F.3d 1332, 1341-45 (Fed. Cir. 2013); TurboCare Div. of Demag Delaval Turbomachinery

v. Gen. Elec. Co., 264 F.3d 1111, 1120 (Fed. Cir. 2001); Purdue Pharma L.P. v. Faulding Inc.,

230 F.3d 1320, 1324 (Fed. Cir. 2000); Gentry Gallery, Inc. v. Berkline Corp., 134 F.3d 1473,

1479-80 (Fed. Cir. 1998). The Patent Act and case law clearly state that these principles apply

with equal force to design patents. 35 U.S.C. § 171; see also Owens, 710 F.3d at 1366 (noting the

written description test “is the same for either a design or a utility patent” and sustaining a rejection

of a design patent claim under § 112); Daniels, 144 F.3d at 1456 (“the drawings of the design

patent are viewed in terms of the ‘written description’ requirement of § 112”).

Sauder particularly relies on a district court slip opinion in H.W.J. Designs for

Agribusiness, Inc. v. Rethceif Enters., LLC, 2018 WL 4657221 (E.D. Cal. Sep. 26, 2018) to argue

that a patent claim cannot be held invalid for failure to comply with the written description

requirement. CRB at 16-17. Sauder’s argument fails for several reasons. First, the court in H.W.J.

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Designs did not address binding Federal Circuit precedent in cases like Synthes USA, TurboCare,

Purdue Pharma, and Gentry Gallery, all of which invalidated patent claims under § 112 during

litigation because new matter was added during prosecution. Whatever the rule stated by the court

in H.W.J. Designs, it need not be followed here to the extent it contradicts those superior

authorities.

Next, Sauder is incorrect that new matter added to a patent claim during prosecution

amounts to no more than a “procedural lapse” that has no effect on validity. CRB at 16-17. The

discussion of “procedural lapses” in the H.W.J. Designs opinion relies on three Federal Circuit

opinions completely inapposite from the new matter arguments here. H.W.J. Designs, 2018 WL

4657221 at *4 (citing Aristocrat Techs. Austl. Pty Ltd. v. Int’l Game Tech., 543 F.3d 657, 662

(Fed. Cir. 2008) (considering the effect of the Patent Office’s determination to revive an

application deemed abandoned because a fee was received one day late); Norian Corp. v. Stryker

Corp., 363 F.3d 1321, 1329 (Fed. Cir. 2004) (considering misstatements made to an examiner in

the context of an inequitable conduct defense); Magnivision Inc. v. Bonneau Co., 115 F.3d 956,

960 (Fed. Cir. 1997) (considering the effect of an applicant’s failure to submit a written summary

of an examiner interview)).

With respect to the written description defense at issue here, the H.W.J. Designs opinion

correctly states that “a violation of Section 112 will result in the invalidity of an issued patent,”

and determining whether new matter has been added in violation of § 112 is a question of fact.

2018 WL 4657221 at *5-6. The district court ultimately concluded that factual questions prevented

summary judgment of invalidity for failure to comply with § 112. Id. at *6. For all of these

reasons, Sauder’s reliance on H.W.J. Designs is misplaced.

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Sauder’s pre- and post-hearing briefs make no mention of the Federal Circuit case most on

point to this dispute: In re Owens, 710 F.3d 1362 (Fed. Cir. 2013). Owens provides a useful

illustration of how adding lines to an existing design drawing changes the scope of a design patent

claim. The inventors in Owens filed a continuation design patent application claiming priority to

an application with the following figure of a bottle design:

Figure in the original application of Owens

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The continuation application contained the following figure:

Fig. 1
Figure in the continuation application of Owens

To indicate the portion of the center area claimed in the continuation design, Owens

bisected the top of his pentagonal panel with a broken line. 710 F.3d at 1365. The examiner

rejected the continuation application for violating § 112. The examiner understood the new broken

line as defining an entirely new trapezoidal-shaped surface that was considered new matter. Id.

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Owens appealed the final rejection to the Federal Circuit. Owens argued that the broken

line across the front face delineated the area that was the focus of the claim. He contended that by

long-standing Patent Office convention, a broken line is not part of a design, so adding the broken

line added no new matter. Id. at 1366-67. 4

The Federal Circuit sustained the rejection. It explained that satisfaction of the written

description turns on “whether the original disclosure ‘clearly allow[s] persons of ordinary skill in

the art to recognize that [the inventor] invented what is claimed.’” Id. at 1368 (quoting Ariad

Pharm., Inc., 598 F.3d at 1351). The court noted that the original application disclosed a design

for a bottle with an undivided pentagonal center-front panel; the original drawing did not

distinguish the top trapezoidal portion of the panel from the rest of the pentagon in any way. Id.

The court concluded that a skilled artisan would not recognize from the original application

drawings that the trapezoidal top portion of the front panel might be claimed separately from the

remainder of that area, so the written description requirement was not satisfied. Id.

Owens demonstrates how strict the written description rule can be with design patents.

Nevertheless, written description questions are highly fact-specific. Vas-Cath Inc., 935 F.2d at

1562. I therefore turn to Sauder’s contention that the figures filed with the original patent

application provide written description support for the issued claim.

My fact finding begins with the prosecution history of the ’576 patent. Sauder’s original

design patent application contained 40 figures. CX-0003 at SMC-007660-99. The original figures

fall into three categories. First, 31 of the original figures were washed-out photographs of a Sauder

sofa, like this one:

4
I also consulted the Federal Circuit briefs in Owens to understand better the issues in dispute
and to see better illustrations of the drawings in question.

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See CX-003 at SMC-007660-007683, -007689-007695. For convenience, I will call the

photographic figures Group A. Of particular relevance here, these photographs left the details of

certain edges and corners ambiguous.

Second, five original figures were line drawings with two parallel lines at the front top edge

of the seat cushion and at other surface edges:

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See CX-003 at SMC-007684-007688. I will call these drawings Group B.

The third group of figures (four in number) were also line drawings, which I will call

Group C. These figures differed from the line drawings in Group B in several ways. The figures

in Group C had no line at the front top part of the seat cushion:

See CX-003 at SMC-007696-007699. The figures in Group C also showed the front face of the

seat area to have a division between the cushion and the base.

In response to a restriction finding that the 40 figures constituted twelve embodiments,

divisible broadly into six patentably distinct groups, id. at SMC-007735-007738, Sauder elected a

single patentably distinct group and cancelled 13 of the original photograph figures. Id.,

Amendment beginning at SMC-007743. The line drawings in Groups B and C, and most of the

photographs in Group A, remained.

The examiner subsequently issued an Office Action rejecting the design claim for being

non-enabled and indefinite under 35 U.S.C. § 112. Id., Office Action beginning at SMC-007800.

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The examiner noted that “the drawings are too light in some areas and too dark in other areas to

clearly define the claimed subject matter . . . [f]or example . . . some areas are so light that they do

not clearly define edge lines or the like.” Id. at SMC-007803. The examiner also objected to the

drawings because photographs and line drawings cannot appear together in the same design patent

application. Id. at SMC-007802.

In response to the rejction, Sauder cancelled all of the remaining photograph figures,

leaving only the line drawings in Group B and Group C. Id., Replacement sheets and Amendment

beginning at SMC-007817. The original line drawings in Group B (those with two parallel lines

at the front edge of the seat cushion) were renumbered as Figures 1-5. The original line drawings

in Group C (those having no line at the front top part of the seat cushion) were renumbered

Figures 6-9.

In light of Sauder’s amendment, the examiner withdrew the formal objection to the

drawings, but maintained the substantive rejection based on indefiniteness under § 112. Id., Office

Action beginning at SMC-07835. Specifically, the examiner noted:

[T]he newly amended Figures 6-9 are replete with areas that are not clearly defined. There
appear to be either lines missing or shading. These areas appear to have some contour that
is not clearly defined with the straight line drawings that do not have surface shading. The
drawing figures may need to be appropriately and adequately shaded to show clearly the
character and/or contour of all surfaces represented. . . The Applicant is strongly cautioned
against amending the drawings to include information that was not present in the originally
filed drawings.

Id. at SMC-007837-007838.

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The examiner annotated the Group C Figures 6-9 to show the areas she found to be

indeterminate:

Id. at SMC-007840-007843. The examiner did not annotate the Group B Figures 1-5 (those that

showed two parallel lines at the front top edge of the seat cushion).

In response, Sauder amended the Group C Figures 6-9. Sauder added new solid lines in

many of the areas circled by the examiner and in several places not circled by the examiner. See

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id., Response to Office Action, at SMC-007846-007857. Sauder also added new shading. The

amended Group C figures are reproduced below:

Id.

Comparing the Group C figures annotated by the examiner to the amended Group C

figures, it is evident that Sauder made several changes to Figures 6-9 after the § 112 rejection. In

areas circled by the examiner, Sauder added a horizontal solid line across the top front of each seat

cushion in each figure to define the top front edge of the cushion. For example, in Figure 6 (which

corresponds to original Figure 37 in the application), Sauder added a solid horizontal line defining

the shape of the top edge of the left-hand seat cushion of the sofa, a solid vertical line defining the

right corner of the seat cushion, and a solid horizontal line defining the top edge of the back rest.

A side-by-side comparison of these elements is below, with arrows pointing to the added lines:

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the sofa. Sauder also added a short vertical line on the right side of the back cushion in Figure 6

to define the right corner of that cushion. Sauder further added a solid line defining the vertical

right edge of the back cushion in Figures 7, 8, and 9. None of these latter solid lines were in areas

identified by the examiner. 5

Sauder made no amendments to Figures 1-5, the Group B figures that showed two parallel

lines at the front top edge of the seat cushion. Those figures remained unchanged throughout

prosecution. 6

The examiner accepted Sauder’s amended drawings and the patent issued. Id., Notice of

Allowance at SMC-007861; see also supra n. 1 (explaining subsequent correction).

With this history in mind, I must determine whether a person of ordinary skill in the art

would have understood the originally filed patent figures to demonstrate that the applicant had

possession of the invention defined in the issued drawings. See Ariad Pharm., Inc., 598 F.3d at

1351; Daniels, 144 F.3d at 1456. This question turns on the meaning of the solid lines the applicant

added to the Group C figures. Solid lines, which the Manual of Patenting Procedure also calls

“full” lines, designate the claimed design. See Blum, 374 F.2d at 907 (“parts of the design sought

to be patented” should be represented with “full lines”); MPEP § 1503.02, III. Dotted Lines, Form

¶ 15.50.01 (“The ornamental design which is being claimed must be shown in solid lines in the

drawing.”). Because “[d]esign patents have almost no scope,” adding or changing solid lines in

5
Other additions to and alterations of the original figures are catalogued and illustrated in the
expert report of Ronald B. Kemnitzer, CX-0040.
6
Additionally, Sauder did not add lines in every location the examiner highlighted in the Group
C figures. For example, the examiner circled an area just to the right of the lower right front
corner in Figures 6, 7, and 9, apparently to highlight a question about a Y-shaped junction of
lines appearing in that location in the original drawings. Sauder did not add any lines in that
area.

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design patent drawings can change the scope of the design claim. In re Mann, 861 F.2d 1581,

1582 (Fed. Cir. 1988) (Rich, J.). This is because “[a] design is a unitary thing and all of its portions

are material in that they contribute to the appearance which constitutes the design.” In re Salmon,

705 F.2d 1579, 1582 (Fed. Cir. 1983) (quoting Blum, 374 F.2d at 907) (emphasis added). 7

The inventor Mr. Wieland 8 and Sauder’s expert Mr. Gallant contend that the lines added

to the Group C figures merely demarcate a transition between vertical and horizontal planes

previously disclosed in the original photographs and line drawings. CX-0013, Rebuttal Report of

Blair Wieland, at ¶¶ 24-27; CX-0015, Rebuttal Report of Dennis Gallant, at ¶¶ 6-8. Mr. Wieland

contends that “the photographs that were originally filed with the application clearly show the

edges of the cushions” and suggests that a skilled artisan would be able to infer the same details

added to the Group C line drawings by reference to the Group A photographs. CX-0013 at ¶ 27.

I note, however, Mr. Wieland does not identify specific elements in the photographs as

corresponding to specific line drawing amendments made to the Group C figures. Mr. Wieland

provides a summary conclusion that in 19 of the original 40 figures “the edges of the cushions are

shown” and therefore a person of ordinary skill in the art could “predict exactly where the lines

would be placed when revising” the Group C figures. Id.

Perhaps Mr. Wieland did not point to specific features of specific photographs from the

original specification because those photographs do not show adequate detail of the design

depicted in the issued figures. Indeed, during prosecution the examiner rejected the Group A

photographs as indefinite and non-enabling precisely because “the shadows are so dark they

7
Even adding dotted lines can, in some circumstances, change the scope of a design patent
claim. See In re Owens, 710 F.3d at 1368.
8
While Sauder refers to Mr. Wieland as an expert, he is hardly a disinterested expert. He is one
of the inventors listed on the patent in suit and an employee of Sauder. CX-0012 at ¶ 2. He even
has a line of furniture at Sauder named after him. Tr. at 107:18-108:23.

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obscure some structure, some areas are so light they do not clearly define edge lines or the like,

and the hardware on various elements is not clearly defined.” CX-0003 at SMC-007803. I have

examined the original Group A photographic figures in evidence. I find that a person of ordinary

skill in the art would not be able to discern the design in the issued figures from examination of

the original photographic figures in the application.

Even if Mr. Wieland is correct that the Group A photographs show that the inventors had

possession of a design having some kind of seat cushion edges, such evidence does not demonstrate

that the inventors possessed a design having the combination of specific edges depicted in issued

Figures 6-9, along with all of the other elements shown in the issued drawings. By adding various

solid black lines at the intersection of various planes in the Group C figures during prosecution,

the inventors claimed not just the location of furniture edges but also the ornamental detail of those

edges. The applicants could have added a broken line to denote the existence of an edge without

claiming any specific ornamental design element of that edge, but the applicants did not. Similarly,

the applicants could have added surface shading (as the examiner suggested) to show and claim a

more rounded transition from the seat top surface to the seat front, but the applicants did not. To

the extent that the Group A photographs reveal anything about the front edges of the seat cushions,

the photographs do not show the sharp edges depicted by the solid lines added to the Group C

figures. The photographs also do not show sharp edges at the other locations where solid lines

were added to the Group C figures. In sum, I find that the Group A photographs do not provide

written description support for the issued figures.

Mr. Wieland and Sauder’s expert Mr. Gallant also assert that the original Group C line

drawings provide written description support for the drawing amendments in question. They

opined that the straight solid line added to the front edge of the seat cushion “is simply denoting

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the change of horizontal and vertical surface planes,” and the original drawings showed a

transition. See, e.g., CX-0015 at ¶ 7. Both Mr. Wieland and Mr. Gallant reject Krug’s contention

that the new solid line shows a sharp edge to the seat cushion. They contend the “pertinent” art

for the asserted design patent is upholstered furniture, and that a person of skill in that art would

know that upholstered furniture rarely, if ever, has sharp edges. See CX-0015 at ¶ 5-6 (“all

upholstered cushions have some degree of roundness to the edges.”), CX-0013 at ¶ 29 (“the edges

of upholstered sofa cushions are always soft to some extent unless they are beaded or welted”).

They interpret the straight line as showing a “rounded” or “curved” or “contoured” edge. See CX-

0015 at ¶ 7; CX-0013 at ¶ 25.

I do not credit the opinions of Mr. Wieland and Mr. Galland that the straight lines added to

the Group C figures represent something other than straight lines in an ornamental design. As for

the argument that the patent design is for upholstered furniture, I note that the design patent

application as originally filed was titled “Design for Sleep System” and made no mention of

upholstery. CX-0003. It was the examiner that suggested “amending the title to Sofa or something

like that.” Id. at SMC-007802. Even as issued, the patent does not mention upholstery. It is

unclear, therefore, that the original application would suggest to a person of skill in the art that the

inventive design in the Group C figures is necessarily executed in upholstery.

Even assuming, for the sake of argument, that a person of skill in the art would understand

the original design in the Group C figures would be executed in upholstery, the record contradicts

the conclusion by Mr. Wieland and Mr. Gallant that upholstered furniture edges are necessarily

rounded. For example, the record contains evidence that a prior art sofa sold by respondent Krug

is upholstered but has relatively sharp seat cushion edges, as shown below:

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CX-0041 at ¶ 103.

Mr. Wieland and Sauder’s expert Mr. Gallant particularly point to originally filed Figure

37 that was amended to become issued Figure 6. They contend that because the original Group C

figure “clearly illustrate[d] curved or radiused corners,” a skilled designer “would know that the

entire horizontal edge was correspondingly rounded.” See CX-0015 at ¶¶ 7-8; CX-0013 at

¶¶24-26. Those arguments fall short. Even if a person of skill would understand from the

originally filed figures that some depicted corners of the seat cushions are rounded, such a person

would not understand that the inventors considered the multiple edges not depicted in the figures

to be part of the inventive design. If the inventors wanted to include the edge in the claimed design,

they were required to clearly depict that edge in a manner that would be understood by those skilled

in the art. Blum, 374 F.2d at 907 (“parts of the design sought to be patented” should be represented

with “full lines”); MPEP § 1503.02, III. Dotted Lines, Form ¶ 15.50.01 (“The ornamental design

which is being claimed must be shown in solid lines in the drawing.”). Additionally, the solid

lines added to the Group C drawings specified a certain edge style, not just any edge. A person of

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skill in the art would not understand from the original Group C line drawings that the inventors

possessed the entire ornamental design created by particular edges and other elements shown in

issued Figures 6-9. See id.

The original Group C drawings did not claim any particular style of edge at the locations

where the applicant later added solid lines. Similarly, the original Group A photographs did not

contain sufficient clarity for a skilled artisan to understand the scope of the invention, particularly

with respect to the ornamentation at the locations in question.

I now turn to the original Group B drawings, which depict the front edge of the seat cushion

with double lines. At the hearing, I asked Sauder’s counsel what the difference was between the

double line at the front edge of the seat in the Group B figures and the single line in the same

location in the Group C figures. Sauder’s counsel replied “they are essentially the same.”

Tr. at 153:5-18. In other words, Sauder argues that the two figures below disclose the same

ornamentation on the front edge and right corner of the seat cushion:

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Sauder’s litigation-inspired explanations of which single lines represent curved upholstery

and which single lines represent something else were not part of the original disclosure and deserve

no weight in determining the scope of the original disclosure. The issued Figures 6-9, with a single

line across the seat front, show a different design not depicted in any of the original drawings.

Finally, I address an issue raised by Krug. Krug contends that it is improper to mix and

match features from different embodiments in the original drawings when evaluating the written

description requirement. ROB at 62; Tr. at 78:14-17. Krug thus encourages me to look only to

the original Group C line drawings to find support for the embodiment of the invention shown in

issued Figures 6-9. Because “[a] design is a unitary thing” represented by all drawings in a single

claim, see Salmon, 705 F.2d at 1582, it is debatable whether the written description requirement

can be evaluated on an embodiment-by-embodiment basis in a design patent dispute. But what is

clear here is that the amended Group C drawings are no less a part of the issued claim than the

Group B drawings. I find that the amendments to the Group C drawings were not supported by

any original figures, so those amendments changed the overall scope of the design patent claim.

In sum, I find that, even in light of the especially weighty presumption of validity in this

context, see Commonwealth Sci. & Indus. Research Org. v. Buffalo Tech. (USA), Inc., 542 F.3d

1363, 1380 (Fed. Cir. 2008), a person of ordinary skill in the art would not conclude from the four

corners of the original patent application at issue here that the inventors possessed the full scope

of the claimed invention. Particularly, the ornamentation represented by the solid lines added to

Figures 6 -9 was not disclosed in the original application. Krug has established, by clear and

convincing evidence, that the ’576 patent is invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, for lack

of written description.

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2. Prior Art

The parties dispute the admissibility of RX-0005/CX-0017, versions of an invoice alleged

by Krug to be evidence of an invalidating prior art sale. ROB at 43. Sauder contends that because

the invoice was produced late it is prejudicial and should not be admitted. See CRB at 10. Sauder,

however, agreed to its admission in exchange for the opportunity to submit a supplemental expert

report. See CX-0038 at SMC-008411-13; CX-0043. I find that Sauder would not be prejudiced

by the admission of the invoice and had adequate opportunity to respond to it. Accordingly, I

admit the invoice exhibits into the record. Ultimately, however, I do not find that the invoice

contains sufficient detail of the design purportedly sold to be invalidating prior art.

V. DOMESTIC INDUSTRY

“Section 337 requires that the domestic industry is related to an ‘article protected by the

patent,’ and an invalid patent cannot protect any articles.” Certain Vision-Based Driver Assistance

Sys. Cameras, Components Thereof, & Prod. Containing the Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-907,

Comm’n Opinion (Dec. 1, 2015). As noted above, I find that the ’576 patent is invalid.

Accordingly, there are no “articles protected by” it. See 19 U.S.C. §§ 1337(a)(2), (3). Sauder’s

domestic industry case fails for at least this reason. In the event that a reviewing tribunal finds my

invalidity conclusion to be incorrect, I provide factual findings on the so-called technical prong

and economic prong of the domestic industry analysis.

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domestic industry product. ROB at 63-64. But Sauder provided charts comparing images of the

sleepToo® design to figures from the patent claim. COB at 30-34. Sauder averred that “the shape

of the arms, backrest, cushions, and seats” in the two designs were the same, as were “the relative

proportions, sizes, and positions of the design elements.” Id. at 33. Sauder provided sufficient

evidence of the sleepToo® design to allow a meaningful analysis of its technical prong

contentions. CX-0006. Viewing the record as a whole, Sauder has shown by a preponderance of

the evidence that its sleepToo® practices the design that is the subject of the ’576 patent claim. I

find that if that claim were valid, Sauder would have satisfied the technical prong of the domestic

industry requirement.

B. Economic Prong

The parties are in agreement that, to the extent Sauder satisfies the technical prong with

respect to the sleepToo® sofa, Sauder also satisfies the economic prong of the domestic industry

requirement under 19 U.S.C. § 1337(a)(3)(A), (B), and (C). Tr. at 137:24-138:6.

I find that the record evidence shows that Sauder has made a significant investment in plant

and equipment and a significant employment of labor in relation to articles alleged to be protected

by the ’576 patent. Sauder operates three manufacturing facilities in the United States which carry

out manufacturing, engineering, and product development activities related to sleepToo® sofas.

CX-0007C at SMC-007927-8. Sauder has invested in capital investments attributable

to production of sleepToo® sofas. CX-0007C at SMC-007918. From 2012 to 2017, Sauder

invested in ongoing product manufacturing and engineering costs related to the

sleepToo® sofa. CX-0007C at SMC-007942. Sauder has also invested in materials

and in goods and services related to the sleepToo® sofa. Id. Sauder employs

employees within the United States, with employees dedicated to manufacturing. A

significant number of Sauder’s employees, necessarily, are involved in the production of

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sleepToo® sofas, as Sauder attributes $ in labor costs to production of those sofas. CX-

0007C at SMC-007942.

In addition, Sauder has made a substantial investment in the exploitation of the ’576 patent,

including through engineering, research, and development activities. For example, Sauder has

expended at least $ in research, development, and engineering related to the sleepToo®

sofa. CX-0007C at SMC-007918.

If the ’576 patent were not invalid, I would find that Sauder satisfied the economic prong

of the domestic industry requirement.

VI. CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

1. The Commission has personal jurisdiction over the parties, subject-matter jurisdiction over
the investigation, and in rem jurisdiction over the accused Krug Amelio sleep sofas.

2. The importation requirement of section 337 is satisfied as to the Krug Amelio sleep sofas.

3. U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576 is invalid under 35 U.S.C § 112 for lacking written
description support.

4. Krug does not infringe the sole claim of U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576.

5. The record contains evidence sufficient to determine that the technical prong of the
domestic industry requirement has been satisfied if U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576 were
not invalid.

6. The record contains evidence sufficient to determine that the economic prong of the
domestic industry requirement has been satisfied if U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576 were
not invalid.

VII. RECOMMENDED DETERMINATION ON REMEDY & BOND

I must issue a recommended determination concerning the appropriate remedy in the event

that the Commission finds a violation of section 337 and I must recommend the amount of bond

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to be posted by Krug during Presidential review of the Commission action. See 19 C.F.R.

§ 210.42(a)(l)(ii).

A. Findings of Fact Relevant to Remedy and Bond

As noted supra, I have found that Krug imported the accused Krug Amelio sleep sofas into

the United States. See supra part II.D.

B. Limited Exclusion Order

Under section 337(d), the Commission may issue a limited exclusion order directed to a

respondent’s infringing products. See 19 U.S.C. § 1337(d). A limited exclusion order instructs

the U.S. Customs Service to exclude from entry all articles that are covered by the patent at issue

that originate from a named respondent in the investigation. See Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. v. Int’l

Trade Comm’n, 474 F.3d 1281, 1286 (2007).

Because I do not find a violation here, a limited exclusion order is not appropriate. In the

event the Commission finds a violation, I recommend that a limited exclusion order issue

prohibiting the importation of the accused products found to infringe the asserted patent. No party

has asked that the order be tailored in any way. To the extent that Krug’s Amelio sofas are modular

and may be arranged in infringing and non-infringing configurations, I recommend that the

Commission specify that the order only applies to infringing configurations.

C. Cease and Desist Order

Under section 337(f)(1), the Commission may issue a cease and desist order in addition to,

or instead of, an exclusion order. See 19 U.S.C. § 1337(f)(1). The Commission generally issues

a cease and desist order directed to a respondent when there is a “commercially significant” amount

of infringing, imported product in the United States that could be sold, thereby undercutting the

remedy provided by an exclusion order. See Certain Magnetic Data Storage and Tapes and

Cartridges Containing the Same (II), Inv. No. 337-TA-1076, Comm’n Op. at 176 (Oct. 25 2018);

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Certain Crystalline Cefadroxil Monohydrate, Inv. No. 337-TA-293, USITC Pub. 2391, Comm’n

Op. on Remedy, the Public Interest and Bonding at 37-42 (June 1991); Certain Condensers, Parts

Thereof and Prods. Containing Same, Including Air Conditioners for Automobiles, Inv. No. 337-

TA-334 (Remand), Comm’n Op. at 26-28, 1997 WL 817767, at *11-12 (U.S.I.T.C. Sept. 10,

1997).

Because I do not find a violation here, a cease and desist order is not appropriate. Even

were the Commission to find a violation of section 337, however, a cease and desist order is not

supported by the record.

Sauder accuses Krug of importing and stockpiling accused products “throughout this

investigation . . . in anticipation of an adverse ruling and exclusion order.” See COB at 43. At the

evidentiary hearing in this matter, however, Sauder’s counsel admitted that such allegations were

without any supporting evidence. Tr. at 143:5-12. As Sauder itself notes in its brief, the accused

products are “configured uniquely for each client.” See COB at 47; see also CX-0005 (Krug

website noting that “every piece is custom-made to customer specifications”); CX-0007C at SMC-

007912 (Declaration of Sauder’s President and Chief Executive Philip E. Bontrager stating “each

[Sauder] order is manufactured to a customer’s unique specifications”). It is difficult to square

record evidence showing that each imported article is a customized piece destined for a particular

customer with evidence showing that products are being imported and stockpiled in bulk in order

to fill future orders. In any event, because there is no evidence that more than a de minimis number

of accused products is presently maintained within the United States by Krug, see Tr. at 151:4-17,

a cease and desist order would not be supported by the record.

D. Bond During Presidential Review

Pursuant to section 337(j)(3), the administrative law judge and the Commission must

determine the amount of bond to be required of a respondent during the 60-day Presidential review
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period following the issuance of permanent relief, in the event that the Commission determines to

issue a remedy. See 19 U.S.C. §1337(j)(3). The purpose of the bond is to protect the complainant

from any injury. See 19 C.F.R. § 210.42(a)(1)(ii), § 210.50(a)(3).

When reliable price information is available, the Commission has often set the bond by

eliminating the differential between the domestic product and the imported, infringing product.

See Microsphere Adhesives, Processes for Making Same, and Prods. Containing Same, Including

Self-Stick Repositionable Notes, Inv. No. 337-TA-366, USITC Pub. 2949, Comm’n Op. at 24 (Dec.

8, 1995). In other cases, the Commission has turned to alternative approaches, especially when a

reasonable royalty rate could be ascertained. See, e.g., Certain Integrated Circuit Telecomm.

Chips and Prods. Containing Same, Including Dialing Apparatus, Inv. No. 337-TA-337, Comm’n

Op. at 41, 1993 WL 13033517 at *24 (U.S.I.T.C. June 22, 1993). A 100 percent bond has been

required when no effective alternative existed. See, e.g., Certain Flash Memory Circuits and

Prods. Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-382, USITC Pub. No. 3046, Comm’n. Op. at 26-27

(July 1997) (imposing a 100 percent bond when price comparison was not practical because the

parties sold products at different levels of commerce, and the proposed royalty rate appeared to be

de minimus and without adequate support in the record).

Here, Sauder asserts that a 100 percent bond rate is required because Krug’s accused

products and Sauder’s domestic products are both customized and configured uniquely for each

customer, rendering price comparisons unreliable. COB at 46-47; CX-0005 (Krug website noting

that “every piece is custom-made to customer specifications”); CX-0007C at SMC-007912

(Declaration of Sauder’s President and Chief Executive Philip E. Bontrager stating “each [Sauder]

order is manufactured to a customer’s unique specifications”). Sauder further argues that, because

Sauder has never licensed the ’576 patent, there are no readily ascertainable royalty rates (citing

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Tryptophan, L-Tryptophan Products, and their Methods of Production, Inv. No. 337-TA-1005,

Comm’n Op. at 53 (Jan. 11, 2018). Such a result follows from the fact that “[t]he complainant has

the burden of supporting any bond amount it proposes.” Id. at 52 (citing Certain Rubber

Antidegradants, Components Thereof and Products Containing Same, Inv. No. 337-TA-533,

Comm’n Op. at 40 (July 21, 2006)). Here, Sauder has not demonstrated that it would be

impractical to calculate a bond rate based on the price differential between the sleepToo® and

Amelio sofas. Rather, the evidence suggests that Sauder simply did not attempt to calculate a price

differential, despite ample opportunity to gather such evidence. See Tr. at 144:22-24 (Q: “Did

you gather discovery on price comparisons?” A: “No.”).

Because Sauder has not carried its burden to support its proposed 100 percent bond rate, I

recommend that the Commission enter a bond rate of zero percent should it find a violation.

VIII. INITIAL DETERMINATION

Based on the foregoing, I have determined that no violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act

of 1930, as amended, has occurred in the importation into the United States, the sale for

importation, or the sale within the United States after importation of certain convertible sofas and

components thereof with respect to U.S. Design Patent No. 716,576.

I hereby certify to the Commission this Initial Determination and the Recommended

Determination.

The Secretary shall serve the confidential version of this Initial Determination upon

counsel who are signatories to the Protective Order (Order No. 1) issued in this investigation. A

public version will be served at a later date upon all parties of record.

Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 210.42(h), this Initial Determination shall become the

determination of the Commission unless a party files a petition for review pursuant to 19 C.F.R.
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§ 210.43(a) or the Commission, pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 210.44, orders on its own motion a review

of the Initial Determination or certain issues therein.

Within seven days of the date of this document, the parties must jointly submit a statement

to [email protected] stating whether or not each seeks to have any portion of this document

redacted from the public version. Should any party seek to have any portion of this document

redacted from the public version thereof, the parties shall attach a copy of a jointly proposed public

version of this document indicating any portion asserted to contain confidential business

information in red brackets. 10 To the extent possible, the proposed redactions should be made

electronically, in a pdf of the issued order, using the “Redact Tool” within Adobe Acrobat, wherein

the proposed redactions are submitted as “marked” but not yet “applied.” The parties shall have

an opportunity to respond regarding any proposed redactions the Administrative Law Judge views

as not meeting the Commission’s standards for confidential business information. The parties’

submissions concerning the public version of this document should not be filed with the

Commission Secretary.

SO ORDERED.

10
If the parties submit excessive redactions, they may be required to provide an additional written
statement, supported by declarations from individuals with personal knowledge, justifying each
proposed redaction and specifically explaining why the information sought to be redacted meets
the definition for confidential business information set forth in Commission Rule 201.6(a). 19
C.F.R. § 201.6(a).

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CERTAIN CONVERTIBLE SOFAS AND COMPONENTS Inv. No. 337-TA-1122
THEREOF

PUBLIC CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I, Lisa R. Barton, hereby certify that the attached INITIAL DETERMINATION has
been served by hand upon the following parties as indicated, on July 17, 2019.

Lisa R. Barton, Secretary

U.S. International Trade Commission
500 E Street, SW, Room 112
Washington, DC 20436

On Behalf of Complainant Sauder Manufacturing Company:

Thomas N. Young, Esq. ☐ Via Hand Delivery
YOUNG BASILE HANLON & MACFARLANE P.C. ☒ Via Express Delivery
3001 W. Big Beaver Road, Suite 624 ☐ Via First Class Mail
Troy, MI 48084
☐ Other:_____________
On Behalf of Respondent Krug, Inc.:
John E. Carlson, Esq. ☐ Via Hand Delivery
CARLSON, GASKEY & OLDS, PC ☒ Via Express Delivery
400 West Maple Road, Suite 250 ☐ Via First Class Mail
Birmingham, MI 48009
☐ Other:_____________