California Department of Transportation v. Tycor Walls, Inc. (Fed. Cir. 2004) (not citable as precedent).
Tycor sued the California DOT for infringement of its patented retaining wall technology. (U.S. Patent 6,036,405). The trial court granted summary judgment to the DOT based on its noninfringement analysis. On appeal, the Federal Circuit vacated, holding that the lower court “erred in its analysis of infringement under the doctrine of equivalents.”
The Appellate Panel (LOURIE, FRIEDMAN, CLEVENGER) found that equivalents of a claimed “slot” need not perform a “sliding function” as requred by the lower court.