David Kline & Bernard J. Cassidy

What if (Almost) Everything You Thought You Knew About America’s “Broken” Patent System Was Wrong? What follows is the fourth and final installment in the “Myths of the Patent Wars” series. The necessary legislative effort to curb bad actors in the patent industry has been “hijacked” by a small handful of very powerful global technology companies intent on forcing broader…

Professor Paul Janicke of the University of Houston Law School conducted a study of all damage verdicts in patent infringement cases between 2005 and 2007. He found no pattern of “runaway jury awards.” In fact, many of the biggest damage awards of that time, including the $1.5 billion award Lucent won from Microsoft, were set aside or greatly reduced by the judges. Even Apple’s $1 billion 2012 patent verdict against Samsung was recently slashed 43 percent. Why, then, are claims of a “broken” patent system rife with “excessive damage” awards so widely believed?