Carnegie Institution of Washington v. Fenix Diamonds LLC

Carnegie Institution of Washington v. Fenix Diamonds LLC The Federal Circuit affirmed the fee and expense award, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding the case exceptional based on objectively baseless infringement positions after claim construction and discovery. It also affirmed joint and several liability and the denial of prejudgment interest, finding no abuse of discretion in the district court's waiver ruling. The decision reinforces that continuing an infringement case after claim construction and discovery foreclose the theory can support § 285 fees, inherent-power expense shifting, and joint liability for aligned patent owner/licensor plaintiffs. Affirmed on Carnegie's appeal and Fenix's cross-appeal; each party bears its own appellate costs. For the '078 patent, the district court's constructions of “growth surface” and “single-crystal diamond” allowed only insubstantial non-monocrystalline growth, but Nouveau's produced evidence showed extensive non-monocrystalline growth. The Federal Circuit held the district court did not abuse its discretion in treating plaintiffs' post-discovery infringement theory as objectively baseless because it effectively conflicted with the claim construction order. For the '189 patent, Carnegie did not defend the reasonableness of its infringement position on appeal; the record showed Nouveau's process operated outside the claimed pressure range and plaintiffs offered no supporting infringement evidence. The court affirmed non-taxable expenses under the district court's inherent power based on findings of bad faith or vexatious conduct, including continuing the case after it became baseless and misleading statements about access to Nouveau's facilities. The court affirmed joint and several liability for Carnegie and M7D based on their close, intertwined litigation relationship, and affirmed denial of prejudgment interest because Fenix waited too long to request it and failed to respond to Carnegie's waiver argument. non-precedential attorney fees / sanctions claim construction infringement waiver / forfeiture non-precedential attorney fees / sanctions claim construction infringement waiver / forfeiture attorney fees / sanctions claim construction infringement waiver / forfeiture