The Federal Circuit’s Give-and-Take in Cisco’s Willful Infringement
The first time at the Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit, Cisco was able to slice its damages penalty in half by eliminating the extra $23.6 million awarded by the trial court for enhanced damages due to willful infringement. On its second visit to the court of appeals, it was not so lucky. In SRI International […]
Willfulness Case at the Federal Circuit: Eko Brands v. ARM — An Erroneous Jury Instruction Survives Challenge and Defeats Willfulness Claim
In a recent Federal Circuit case, Eko Brands, LLC v. Adrian Rivera Maynez Enters., the court narrowly upheld a jury instruction that may have been rejected had the defendant raised its objections differently at trial. The case generally stands to reinforce the division of duties between the jury and the court (namely that the jury […]
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 […]
ClearstoneIP to Attend Upcoming IP Law Events
ClearstoneIP will be attending two major IP community events this fall. We’d love to meet you! 2018 IPO Annual Meeting, Chicago First, it’s the 2018 IPO Annual Meeting in Chicago on September 23-25th. ClearstoneIP will be exhibiting as part of the IP Expo, showcasing our continually evolving cloud platform for managing the complexities of the […]
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 […]