Rare Finding Of Non-Obviousness Based Solely On Secondary Considerations

Addressing the validity and infringement of two patents, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a lower court judgment as a matter of law (JMOL) that the patented invention was invalid and not infringed, reinstating a jury's $15 million damages award.  Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Inc. v. Maersk Contractors USA, Inc., Case No. 11-1555 (Fed. Cir., Nov. 15, 2012) (Moore, J.).

The two Transocean patents related to a deepwater drilling vessel having "dual-activity" technology.  The dual-activity technology permits simultaneous drilling and finishing operations by the concurrent use of two cooperating advancing stations, thereby improving operational efficiency.  The defendant, Maersk, entered into a contract with Statoil, offering for sale a deepwater drilling vessel having Transocean's dual-activity technology.  The contract contained an option-to-modify clause pending the outcome of unrelated district court litigation involving