Patent Infringement, Evidence and Claim Interpretation: Key Guidance from the SCA

Very pleased to report another success from our patent litigation team in the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa, this time for Safety Engineering International LLC and AeroKlas Duys (Pty) Ltd.

The unanimous decision which includes judgments from Justice Connie Mocumie and Justice David Unterhalter is replete with great guidance on the law, its application and navigates the gauntlet of evidentiary hurdles that the plaintiffs faced.

The issue before the court was whether or not the defendants’ product infringed Safety Engineering International’s South African patent. Part of resolving that was an interpretive dispute that Mocumie JA’s captured well in her opening lines:

“A court should always guard against too ‘textual’ an approach in the interpretation of claims in a patent specification. The claims must be examined to determine whether an infringement has occurred. But by ‘peering too closely at the language of a claim’, the Court may overlook an infringement which takes the substance of the invention.”

Beyond the issue of claim interpretation, the plaintiffs had to prove that the defendants’ product included certain measurements, some involving various calculations. The defendants elected not to call any fact or expert witnesses nor to disclose their own version of the measurements, but for tendering and subsequently withdrawing certain diagrams and making certain admissions at the plaintiffs’ request. At least at trial level, the defendants worked hard in an attempt to cast much doubt on the plaintiffs’ version of the measurements. Ultimately, the absence of evidence from the defendants weighed against them.

What a pleasure to read something not drafted by AI.

It was an even greater pleasure to learn about and understand what incredible research and development Safety Engineering International undertook to help improve road safety and save lives.  Their product is truly groundbreaking.

And let me not get started on the wonderful team effort between A&A, counsel and our clients.

Link to the full judgment