Case Number: 1:12-cv-09077-DLC (Dkt. 90)

Judge Cote issued claim constructions for terms in U.S. Patents Nos. 7,866,715 (“Protective vehicle cover”) and 8,047,601 (“same”), which cover devices designed to protect the rear bumper of cars from minor bumps and scrapes. The court adopted the patentee’s positions, as follows:

"detachably attaching” means “connected to the rear bumper in a disengageable (non-permanent) fashion” and does not require a direct attachment

“stabilizing block” means “a block that helps stabilize the bumper,” and is not limited to reducing curling.

"attached” does not exclude blocks that are “integrally formed, or of a continuous mold, with its base layer.”

In a related ruling the same day, the court refused to strike defendant Chariot’s invalidity defenses or its inequitable conduct counterclaim.