Federal Circuit on Section 286 and the statute of limitations for patent infringement damages

Section 286 of the Patent Act “sets forth a limitation on damages.” Adams & Associates v. Dell. Under 35 U.S.C. § 286, “[e]xcept as otherwise provided by law, no recovery shall be had for any infringement committed more than six years prior to the filing of the complaint or counterclaim for …

Supreme Court holds that Section 145 does not permit the recovery of USPTO attorney fees under “expenses”

Peter v. NantKwest was decided by the Supreme Court on December 11, 2019 on appeal from the Eastern District of Virginia. The USPTO rejected Nantkwest’s patent application on obviousness grounds. The PTAB affirmed the rejection, and Nantkwest appealed to the district court under 35 U.S.C. § 145. After prevailing at the …

A patent remedies case study on Apple v. Samsung

This post will track the issued remedies in the patent dispute between Apple and Samsung. The post will not cover patent invalidity decisions from the USPTO or the district court. The dispute started on April 15, 2011, with a complaint by Apple against Samsung in the Northern District of California, …

Supreme Court holds that Section 284 permits lost profits for foreign uses of infringing components under Section 271(f)(2)

WesternGeco v. ION was decided by the Supreme Court on June 21, 2018 on appeal from the Southern District of Texas. At trial, the jury found defendant ION liable and awarded plaintiff WesternGeco $12.5 million in royalties and $93.4 million in lost profits. WesternGeco claimed it was entitled to lost profits after “it …

What We Learned About Patent Remedies In 2017

2017 was a busy year for patent remedies. Except for the Supreme Court decision on laches, most of the action happened in the Federal Circuit. The graph below shows how many times each decision has been cited by another court. It’s updated as to January 26, 2018.   1. Laches …

Supreme Court holds that laches can’t bar damages for a suit brought within the limitations period

SCA Hygiene v. First Quality was decided by the Supreme Court on March 21, 2017 on appeal from the Western District of Kentucky. There, the district court granted defendant First Quality’s summary judgment motion of laches and equitable estoppel. A Federal Circuit panel affirmed as to laches, but reversed as to …

What We Learned About Patent Remedies In 2016 (as published on Law360)

Link to article on Law360.  2016 was a busy year for patent remedies. The U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases, one on willfulness and the other on design patent damages. The Federal Circuit made law on willfulness, enhancement, attorney fees, antitrust damages, preissuance patent damages, and laches. This article will review these …

Supreme Court: § 289’s “article of manufacture” covers a component of the end product

Samsung v. Apple was decided by the Supreme Court on December 6, 2016 on appeal from the Northern District of California. There, a jury found that several of defendant Samsung’s smartphones infringed plaintiff Apple’s design patents, and awarded Apple $399 million, the entire profit Samsung made from the infringing phones. The Federal Circuit affirmed …

Supreme Court relaxes willfulness standard: objective recklessness no longer required

Halo Electronics v. Pulse Electronics was decided by the Supreme Court on June 13, 2016 on appeal from the District of Nevada. There, a jury found that defendant Pulse had infringed plaintiff Halo’s patent, and that the infringement was probably willful. Applying the then-standard Seagate, the district court declined to enhance …

Courts must apply the four-factor test before granting or denying a permanent injunction

eBay v. MerkExchange was decided by the Supreme Court on May 15, 2006 on appeal from the Eastern District of Virginia. Following a jury verdict of infringement, the district court denied plaintiff MerkExchange’s motion for a permanent injunction. The Federal Circuit reversed and ruled that MerkExchange was entitled to an injunction, applying …