Corephotonics, Ltd. v. Apple, Inc.

Corephotonics, Ltd. v. Apple, Inc.

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTIONS TO DISMISS

Re: Dkt. Nos. 47, 68

In two consolidated patent infringement cases, Defendant Apple Inc. ("Apple") moves to dismiss Plaintiff Corephotonics, Ltd.'s ("Corephotonics") willful infringement claims. In the first case, 17-CV-6457, Corephotonics sued Apple for the infringement of four of Corephotonics' patents. ECF No. 1. Corephotonics later filed a First Amended Complaint ("FAC") in that case. ECF No. 42. In the Complaint in the second case, 18-CV-2555, ("'18 [*2]  Compl."), Corephotonics sued Apple for the additional infringement of two of Corephotonics' patents. 18-CV-2555, ECF No. 1. On May 22, 2018, the Court consolidated the two cases, with 17-CV-6457 as the lead case. ECF No. 61.¹ Id. Apple now moves to dismiss Corephotonics' willful infringement claims in the FAC and the '18 Complaint. ECF Nos. 47 & 68.

Having considered the parties' briefs, the record in the case, and the relevant law, the Court DENIES Apple's motions to dismiss Corephotonics' willful infringement claims.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

Corephotonics "is a company organized and existing under the laws of the State of Israel," and has its principal place of business in Tel Aviv, Israel. FAC ¶ 8. Apple is a California corporation and has its principal place of business in Cupertino, California. Id. ¶ 9.

Corephotonics "is a pioneer in the development of dual camera technologies for mobile devices." Id. ¶ 13. The company's "dual-aperture camera technology changes the way smartphones take pictures by using advanced lens design and sophisticated computational optics." Id. ¶ 15. In brief, Corephotonics' technology "uses two fixed-focal length lenses, a wide-angle lens as typically [*3]  found in smartphones with single-aperture cameras, and a miniature telephoto lens." Id. ¶ 16. As a result, the technology "create[s] an effectively greater level of zoom without degrading image quality by combining digital and optical zoom." Id. Corephotonics "has filed for and received patents on its advanced telephoto lens designs, multi-aperture camera technologies, and optical processing technologies." Id. ¶ 18.

Corephotonics owns: (1) U.S. Patent 9,402,032 (the "'032 patent"), which issued on July 26, 2016; (2) U.S. Patent No. 9,568,712 (the "'712 patent"), which issued on February 14, 2017; (3) U.S. Patent No. 9,185,291 (the "'291 patent"), which issued on November 10, 2015; (4) U.S. Patent No. 9,538,152 (the "'152 patent"), which issued on January 3, 2017; and (5) U.S. Patent No. 9,857,568 (the "'568 patent"), which issued on January 2, 2018. FAC ¶¶ 3-6; '18 Compl. ¶¶ 3-4. The '032, '712, and '568 patents are all entitled "Miniature Telephoto Lens Assembly." FAC ¶¶ 3-4; '18 Compl. ¶¶ 3-4. The '291 patent is entitled "Dual Aperture Zoom Digital Camera," while the '152 patent is entitled "High Resolution Thin Multi-Aperture Imaging Systems." FAC ¶¶ 5-6.

Full case includes Shepard's, Headnotes, Legal Analytics from Lex Machina, and more.