Nike v. Lululemon
Panel: Moore, Chen, Bissoon
The Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's final written decision holding all challenged claims of Nike's U.S. Patent No. 8,620,413 unpatentable in an IPR brought by Lululemon. The '413 patent relates to a portable electronic device that prompts a user to exercise at successive exertion levels based on physical fitness and determines heart rate zones. The Board found certain claims anticipated by Amano and the remaining claims obvious over Amano in combination with Gorman or Flach.
The court's analysis turned on whether the claim limitation requiring exertion levels "based on a level of physical fitness of a user" could encompass physical characteristics like stride length and weight. Reviewing claim construction de novo and the Board's factual findings for substantial evidence, the court rejected Nike's argument that the Board improperly broadened the limitation, noting the claim's "broad phrasing" and the specification's failure to cabin the term. The court found substantial evidence supported the Board's factfinding on anticipation, including its credibility determinations between competing experts and its conclusion that an ordinarily skilled artisan would understand Amano's "homogenous" disclosure as incorporating methods across embodiments that were not truly distinct.