Summary
This memorandum order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas rules on the Comcast Defendants' motion to exclude and strike portions of Dr. Kevin Almeroth's expert report. Applying Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert standards, the court struck references to unrelated prior litigation but denied requests to exclude opinions on secondary considerations, references to another expert, and statements regarding the invention's priority date. The order clarifies the boundaries of permissible expert testimony within the ongoing patent dispute.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the court should grant the motion to strike Dr. Almeroth’s references to the Google litigation
- Whether the court should strike Dr. Almeroth’s references to Dr. Wicker’s opinions
- Whether the court should strike Dr. Almeroth’s discussion of secondary considerations in a rebuttal report
- Whether the court should strike Dr. Almeroth’s statement about the priority date
Holdings
- The motion is granted in part; the references to the Google matter are stricken.
- The motion to strike those references is denied as moot.
- The motion is denied; the plaintiff may address secondary considerations in a rebuttal report.
- The motion is denied as moot because there is no dispute.
Key quotations
“An expert witness may provide opinion testimony if “(a) the expert’s scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will help the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue; (b) the testimony is based on sufficient facts or data; (c) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods; and (d) the expert has reliably applied the principles and methods to the facts of the case.””
Factual background
Touchstream sued Charter for patent infringement. The parties submitted expert reports. Comcast moved to strike portions of Dr. Almeroth's report that referenced the Google litigation, Dr. Wicker, secondary considerations of non‑obviousness, and the priority date. The court evaluated the relevance and timeliness of those references under Rule 702.
Procedural history
The plaintiff moved to strike portions of the expert report of Dr. Kevin Almeroth that referenced other litigation and secondary considerations. The court considered the motion and issued a memorandum order.