Domestic Contract For Foreign Manufacture and Delivery Not An Infringing Act

The court granted defendants' motion for summary judgment of noninfringement of plaintiff's image sensor patents because the accused wafers were not sold in the U.S. "[A]t most, the evidence shows that [defendants'] entities engaged in conduct amounting to domestic contracts for foreign sales — that is, contracts executed in the United States but contemplating strictly foreign manufacture and delivery. Such conduct does not constitute direct infringement because the accused wafers are manufactured and sold outside the United States. . . . In light of the strong presumption that United States patent law does not operate extraterritorially, the Court finds that the place of manufacture and the location of the contemplated sales (i.e., Taiwan) are determinative of direct infringement liability. . . . . Even if the Court accepts [plaintiff's] position that [defendants] negotiated and executed contracts for the sale of the accused wafers in the United States, the contracts contemplated delivery and performance abroad."

Ziptronix, Inc. v. Omnivision Technologies, Inc., et al, 4-10-cv-05525 (CAND October 21, 2014, Order) (Armstrong, J.)