Pellegrini v. Analog Devices, Inc. (Fed. Cir.)

July 8, 2004 on 4:40 pm | In Caselaw |

Pellegrini v. Analog Devices, Inc.
Federal Circuit, July 8, 2004
Before LOURIE (opinion), RADER, and BRYSON, Circuit Judges

Gerald Pellegrini (sole inventor and owner of U.S. Patent 4,651,069) appeals from the decision of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts granting partial summary judgment in favor of Analog Devices, Inc. (“Analog”) in a patent infringement suit. Pellegrini v. Analog Devices, Inc., No. 02-11562-RWZ (D. Mass. May 7, 2003) (Memorandum of Decision).
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This case presents the question whether components that are manufactured outside the United States and never physically shipped to or from the United States may nonetheless be “supplie[d] or cause[d] to be supplied in or from the United States” within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 271(f)(1) if those components are designed within the United States and the instructions for their manufacture and disposition are transmitted from within the United States.
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We agree with Analog that § 271(f)(1) does not apply to the facts of this case. First, § 271(f) is clear on its face. It applies only where components of a patent invention are physically present in the United States and then either sold or exported “in such a manner as to actively induce the combination of such components outside the United States in a manner that would infringe the patent if such combination occurred within the United States.” Secondly, as Pellegrini himself recognizes, we explained in North American Phillips v. American Vending Sales, Inc., 35 F.3d 1576 (Fed. Cir. 1994), that “the ‘tort’ of patent infringement occurs where the offending act [making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing] is committed and not where the injury is felt.” Id. at 1579.
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Because there are no genuine issues of material fact in dispute and Analog is entitled to partial judgment as a matter of law, we affirm.

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