How An Early Patent Investigation Helped CalAmp Avoid $6 Million in Enhanced Damages
A recent Federal Circuit case, Omega Patents v. CalAmp, underscores the importance of conducting early patent investigations and how they can help avoid enhanced damages due to willful patent infringement. CalAmp entered the appeal owing $9 million in compensatory and enhanced damages for willful patent infringement after a jury trial ($15 million total after attorney’s […]
Federal Circuit Vacates Enhanced Damages Award Against Cisco Because No Willfulness Before Knowledge of Patent
The Federal Circuit issued an interesting decision involving willful infringement last week, in particular relating to evidence needed to support a period of time during which the alleged willful activity took place. In SRI International, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., the appeals court found that SRI had not presented sufficient evidence to support a willfulness […]
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Arctic Cat: Willful Infringement Remains a “Knew or Should Have Known” Standard
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court issued an order denying certiorari in Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. v. Arctic Cat Inc. As a result, the holding of the underlying Federal Circuit case remains intact. We discussed this case and its implications in a blog post several weeks ago. Specifically, the Federal Circuit held: Halo did not disturb […]
Arctic Cat v. Bombardier at the Supreme Court — Is Willful Infringement Determined by a Negligence Standard?
Currently making its way through the Supreme Court appeal process (petition for certiorari filed, not yet granted), Arctic Cat v. Bombardier is an important willful infringement case that implicates the standard of care applicable to potential infringers when investigating patent risk. The current rule is that, in order to show willfulness and obtain enhanced damages, a […]
Federal Circuit Affirms: No Enhanced Damages Against Willful Infringer Who Intentionally Copied
The Federal Circuit last week affirmed a district court’s denial of enhanced patent infringement damages in Sociedad Espanola de Electromedicina y Calidad v. Blue Ridge X-Ray Co., limiting the total damages to just the $852,000 jury award. In a previous summary of post-Halo cases, we noted the remarkable facts in the underlying trial: the defendants […]
Willful Infringement Case Update – Eidos Display v. Chi Mei Innolux
Earlier this month, Judge Gilstrap of the Eastern District of Texas issued a post-trial decision penalizing a patent infringer for failing to form a good-faith non-infringement or invalidity position before the lawsuit. The court doubled the $4.1 million verdict for a total of $8.2 million in damages. Eidos Display, LLC v. Chi Mei Innolux Corp., […]
Willful Infringement: More Clarity From the Federal Circuit — Exmark v. Briggs & Stratton and More
The Federal Circuit’s recent decision in Exmark v. Briggs & Stratton echoes the central point in our prior analysis of Halo v. Pulse that timing matters in determining whether an accused infringer did so willfully. The case leaves us with two key practical implications: Early investigation of patent threats can help avoid a finding of willful infringement; positions […]
Pirates Among Us? How Have Courts Treated Willful Infringers in the Year Following Halo v. Pulse?
As the Supreme Court’s Halo decision[1] recently celebrated its first anniversary, we take a look to see whether the lower courts have effectively rooted out the “wanton and malicious pirates” about whom the unanimous High Court was so gravely concerned. Have we found and singled out our swash-buckling ne’er-do-wells for public shaming, or have […]
Three Keys to Effective Freedom-to-Operate Management
Freedom-to-operate is a murky world where the quality of the investigation greatly depends on the skills and resourcefulness of the lawyer or analyst doing the work. Best practices and standards of care are not very well defined and, even when systems exist, they are rarely adaptable to changing needs. It is our mission at ClearstoneIP […]
ClearstoneIP Announces New FTO Platform
ClearstoneIP is proud to announce the beta release of its next generation freedom-to-operate management platform, Clearstone FTO. With guidance and feedback from IP industry leaders, we’ve infused this new web-based application with the ideal combination of best practices, workflows, and collaboration features to bring much-needed efficiency to a critical process. Some of the core features […]