United States District Court, D. Colorado
ORDER
Michael E. Hegarty, United States Magistrate Judge.
Defendant
Mushkin, Inc. seeks to dismiss Plaintiff Anza Technologies,
Inc.'s Second Amended Complaint. I find that 35 U.S.C.
§ 286 bars Anza's damages for patent infringement,
because the newly asserted claims do not relate back to those
in its First Amended Complaint. Accordingly, I grant
Mushkin's motion.
BACKGROUND
I.
Facts
Anza
makes the following relevant factual allegations (as opposed
to legal conclusions, bare assertions, or merely conclusory
allegations) in its Second Amended Complaint, which I take as
true for my analysis under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). See
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).
Anza
produces and sells products that are used in assembling
electronics. Second Am. Compl. ¶ 6, ECF No. 75. Relevant
here, Anza manufactures products that minimize electrostatic
discharge when connecting integrated circuit chips to other
electrical components, such as semiconductor dies and circuit
boards. See Id. Mushkin was involved in the
acquisition and sale of computer memory products until 2012,
when it sold this portion of its business to Avant
Technologies, Inc. Id. ¶¶ 8-9, 12.
Integrated
circuit chips are connected to electrical components through
various bonding techniques. Id. ¶¶ 14-19.
"Wire bonding is the method of making interconnections
with the integrated circuit and other components using, for
example, gold or copper wire and the application of
ultra-sonicsorheat." Id. ¶ 17. The
following is an example of a wire bonded semi-conductor die:
(Image
Omitted)
Id. ¶ 13. To achieve a connection with minimal
electrostatic discharge, the wire is placed on the circuit
and bonded using a tool tip. Id. ¶ 18; U.S.
Patent No. 6, 354, 479, at 8 (issued Mar. 12, 2002)
('"479 patent"), ECF No. 75-3. In 2000, Anza
obtained two patents over its wire bonding tool tip. '479
Patent; U.S. Patent No. 6, 651, 864 (issued Nov. 25,
2003)('"864 patent"), ECFNo. 75-4. The patents
include diagrams illustrating the wire bonding tool and tip:
(Image
Omitted)
'479 patent, at 4, 5; '864 patent, at.4.
"Flip
chip bonding" is a different method for connecting
integrated circuit chips to electrical components. Second Am.
Compl. ¶ 19. This technique deposits solder bumps on a
substrate and then places a "flipped" or
"face-down" integrated circuit chip onto the
substrate so that the bumps directly connect the circuit and
substrate. Id. Thus, "[w]ire bonding techniques
use 'face-up' chips with a wire connection to each
pad. Bump or 'flip chip' microelectronic assembly, on
the other hand, is a direct electrical connection of
face-down-'flipped'-electronic components onto
substrates ..." U.S. Patent No. 7, 124, 927, at 10
(issued Oct. 24, 2006) ('"927 patent"), ECF No.
20-1.
When
flip chip bonding, a tool must be used to deposit solder
balls and minimize electrostatic discharge. Second Am. Compl.
¶ 20. In 2005, Anza obtained a patent on its flip chip
and solder ball placement tool. '927 patent. The
following diagram, which is ...