Octane Fitness, LLC v. Icon Health & Fitness, Inc.

134 S.Ct. 1749 (2014)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

ICON (P) and D manufacture fitness equipment. P owns the ’710 patent, which discloses an elliptical exercise machine that allows for adjustments to fit the individual stride paths of users. P has never commercially sold the machine disclosed in the ’710 patent. P sued D alleging that D's machines infringed several claims of the ’710 patent. The District Court granted D’s motion for summary judgment, concluding that D’s machines did not infringe P’s patent. D moved for attorney’s fees under §285. The Court denied Octane’s motion because D could show neither that P’s claim was objectively baseless nor that P had brought it in subjective bad faith. The Court rejected D’s argument that the judgment of noninfringement “should have been a foregone conclusion to anyone who visually inspected” D’s machines. P appealed the judgment of noninfringement, and D cross-appealed the denial of attorney’s fees. The Federal Circuit affirmed both orders. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.