Court Denies Design Patent Preliminary Injunction for Lack of Evidence

Chief Judge Kendall denied Middleton Mixology's preliminary injunction motion against HzSane for alleged infringement of patent '769 covering smoker devices. The court found HzSane raised substantial questions about infringement, as its device with closed bottom may not meet claim 8's "opposing open ends" requirement for "through bore." Middleton failed to prove irreparable harm beyond speculative assertions of lost goodwill without evidence of customer confusion or product inferiority.