Nespresso USA Inc. persuaded an administrative tribunal to
invalidate two K-fee System GmbH patents related to single-serve
coffee capsules and a beverage system.
K-fee's US Patent Nos. 11,230,430 and 10,994,923 are obvious
in light of four previous inventions because an individual
experienced in mechanical beverage systems likely would've
combined them to create the challenged patents, according to two
Patent Trial and Appeal Board decisions issued Tuesday.
K-fee, a subsidiary of Kruger GmbH & Co. KG that makes coffee
and espresso pods, sued the Nestlé SA subsidiary in January
2022, alleging infringement of three patents. The US District Court
for the Central District of California stayed the lawsuit in
September 2022 pending Nespresso's PTAB petitions. The board
upheld the validity of the third patent, US Patent No. 11,254,491,
in April. Nespresso's appeal to the US Court of Appeals for
the Federal Circuit remains pending.
- The ‘430 patent covers a beverage system including a single-serve capsule with a bar code and a beverage machine, and the ‘923 patent details a single-serve capsule.
- The board concluded K-fee's expert wasn't qualified to offer testimony from the perspective of a person having ordinary skill in the art because his evidence of experience in the design of mechanical beverage systems or similar products was insufficient.
- A jury trial in the parallel litigation is tentatively scheduled to begin in August 2025.
- Administrative Patent Judges Jon B. Tornquist, Grace Karaffa Obermann, and James J. Mayberry joined the decisions.
Mayer Brown LLP represents Nespresso. McDermott Will & Emery
LLP, Alston & Bird LLP, and The Dobrusin Law Firm represent
K-Fee.
The cases are:
- Nespresso USA Inc. v. K-fee System GmbH, P.T.A.B., IPR2023-00485, 9/10/24
- Nespresso USA Inc. v. K-fee System GmbH, P.T.A.B., IPR2023-00502, 9/10/24
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