Post-verdict infringement royalty must take into account changed bargaining position of parties In a decision Tuesday, the Federal Circuit addressed the issuance, stay, and subsequent dissolution of a permanent injunction. Further, the court addressed how damages should be allocated from infringement during a stay. The district court took the jury's reasonable royalty for pre-verdict infringement and trebled it to determine the applicable post-verdict royalty. The Federal Circuit […] Continue Reading →
Seventh Circuit: Sanction of no damages for improper witness contact too severe compared to harm In a decision Friday, the Seventh Circuit affirmed a jury verdict of trademark infringement, but reversed the district court's ruling holding the plaintiff had forfeited damages because of improper conduct towards a prospective witness. The court dealt with whether the burden of proof for the sanction was by clear and convincing evidence or as the […] Continue Reading →
Federal Circuit once again affirms that saving patented seeds for replanting is infringement In a decision yesterday, the Federal Circuit once again affirmed a finding of infringement against a farmer who saved seeds covered by a patent to replant the following year. The plaintiff in this case, Monsanto, has brought similar cases in the past, and they have resulted in similar outcomes.Here, the asserted claims covered the genetic […] Continue Reading →
Infringement of two claims and $74 million in damages affirmed, injunction reinstated In a decision last week, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in-part and reversed-in-part a jury verdict of infringement of a patent owned by Tivo relating to its DVR technology. The ruling was based on claim construction, with the court finding that, based on the correct construction of claims directed to the DVR hardware, there was no infringement […] Continue Reading →
No damages for convoyed sales when no functional relationship between patented and unpatented goods In a decision today, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's decision setting aside the portion of a jury verdict awarding convoyed sales to a patentee, and sustaining the portion of the verdict finding the alleged infringer had not shown invalidity via public use. There was no evidence of a functional relationship between the patented […] Continue Reading →
When market entry fee part of damages for patent infringement, permanent injunction inappropriate In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed a finding of infringement of a patent relating to the detection and classification of Hepatitis C Virus, but remanded the case for a determination of anticipation. In arguably the most interesting aspect of the decision, the court vacated the permanent injunction entered against the defendant. The plaintiff […] Continue Reading →
Ninth Circuit: Attorney fees only available for trademark counterfeiting when actual damages sought In a decision Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit reversed a district court's decision awarding $100,000 in attorney's fees for trademark counterfeiting under 15 U.S.C. § 1117(c). The court reached this decision based on the language of § 1117: While § 1117(b), the provision allowing attorney's fees, states that they shall be awarded when damages are assessed […] Continue Reading →
Jury verdict finding Microsoft’s product activation systems infringed two patents affirmed In a decision Friday, the Federal Circuit affirmed a district court's finding of infringement and no invalidity of patents relating to the reduction of software piracy. At issue was a finding of non-infringement based on the claim construction of claim limitations found in patents held by z4 Technologies. In affirming the district court decision, the […] Continue Reading →
Sixth Circuit: ratio of punitive to compensatory damages too great in copyright case In a decision Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a district court judgment awarding $366,939 in compensatory damages, $3.5 million in punitive damages, and $150,000 in statutory damages (to a second plaintiff) in a copyright infringement case. The case was brought against the music publishers behind The Notorious B.I.G. album […] Continue Reading →
Infringement and royalty rate affirmed; dismissal of willful infringement claim reversed In a recent decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed-in part a district court's grant of summary judgment of infringement of a patent, finding that the claims were properly held to include measuring devices that either directly or indirectly compare two signals to determine the proper measurement. The court reversed-in part the district court's damages award. The […] Continue Reading →