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| The Federal Court of Canada dismiss patent infringement claims against DSC |
Tyco Safety Products Canada Ltd. (also known as DSC), the manufacturer and supplier of DSC® home security products in more than 140 countries, today announced that it has prevailed in a major lawsuit involving certain legacy DSC alarm panels. In a lengthy judgment, the Federal Court of Canada dismissed the patent infringement action filed in 2004 by a competitor, Paradox Security Systems Ltd.
The Federal Court of Canada ruled that Paradox's patents are invalid on multiple grounds and that all infringement allegations against DSC must therefore be dismissed.
The Court concluded that Paradox had improperly modified the scope of its patents only weeks before launching the lawsuit by filing disclaimers against the patents, and that the Paradox patents were in any event invalid because they were anticipated and obvious in light of prior art. The Court ruled in DSC's favour on virtually all counts.
The Court found that the Paradox disclaimers were not the appropriate mechanism to modify the patents, and that Paradox had failed to establish to the Court's satisfaction that the conditions for filing disclaimers in Canadian law had been adhered to. The disclaimers were ruled to be invalid.
The Court further held that Paradox had admitted in its disclaimers that the original claims of its patents were too broad; consequently the patents as originally granted were also invalid. The Court went on to analyze the validity of the patents, both as originally granted and as disclaimed. The Court determined the patents were invalid because they lacked inventiveness and were substantially similar to earlier issued patents and technologies, including a product marketed by DSC in the mid-1980. The Court concluded by dismissing Paradox's action.