On September 15, 2021 the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a final judgment of non-infringement in favor of Kutak Rock clients O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. and Mossberg Corporation (“Mossberg”).  

Plaintiffs Eric Lemoine and TTC Performance Products, Inc. dba Black Aces Tactical sued Mossberg for patent infringement in 2018 claiming that the asserted patent covered any shotgun that accepted a removeable box magazine. 

Kutak Rock partner Jason S. Jackson, counsel for Mossberg, successfully argued in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut that the preamble of the patent claims limited the patent to shotguns that have been converted after original manufacture to accept a box magazine.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with the district court’s claim construction and scattered some gun humor throughout the opinion.  First, the Court noted “it is not entirely clear that Lemoine ever actually pulled the trigger in arguing that the preamble is not limiting…”  The Court then “set our sights on the proper construction” and held that the district court’s claim construction “was on target.”

Jason S. Jackson is the founder and head of the firm’s Post-Grant Proceedings Group, which handles cases before the PTAB.  He has also been lead counsel in numerous patent infringement suits in U.S. district courts around the country.

The opinion is available here.