Posts Tagged: "Seagate Technologies"

Litigating Willful Patent Infringement in a Post-Halo World

After Halo, courts appear to be breathing new life into claims for willful patent infringement and enhanced damages claims. In fact, since Halo’s new standard took effect a few months ago, juries found willful infringement in three out of four cases where they returned a verdict of infringement. However, as discussed below, there are steps a defendant can take to protect itself against a finding of willful infringement.

Kenneth Jenq & Rob Kramer & Jennifer Bennett & Dr. Russell Tonkovich

December 8, 2016

In Halo Electronics SCOTUS gives district courts discretion to award triple damages for willful infringement

Earlier today, in a unanimous decision delivered by Chief Justice John Roberts in Halo Electronics, Inc. v. Pulse Electronics, Inc., the United States Supreme Court did what much of the patent world expected it would do, which is overrule the Federal Circuit’s “unduly rigid” test for the awarding of enhanced damages for willful damages put in place by In re Seagate Technology, LLC, 497 F. 3d 1360, 1371 (2007)(en banc).

Gene Quinn

June 13, 2016

SCOTUS takes case on awarding enhanced damages for patent infringement

The United States Supreme Court accepted certiorari in two patent cases, which will require the court to determine whether district court judges should have discretion to award victorious patentees with enhanced damages under 35 U.S.C. § 284. While predicting the outcome of a Supreme Court decision is always speculative, this case should be one of the easiest outcomes to predict ever. Unless the Supreme Court fundamentally alters its statutory interpretation from the Octane Fitness case, arbitrarily creating a distinction without a difference, the Supreme Court will grant district courts the same broad discretion on enhanced damages that they have been given with respect to awarding attorneys fees.

Gene Quinn

October 19, 2015

Flashback Seagate: Indifference to Patent Rights of Innovators

After dispatching with Underwater Devices the Federal Circuit announced the new rules, which requires at least a showing of objective recklessness in order to support a finding of willful infringement and, thereby permitting enhanced damages. The Federal Circuit did not stop there though, but rather took the opportunity to explain that because of the abandonment of the affirmative duty of due care, there is no affirmative obligation to obtain opinion of counsel. Thus entered the era of intentional blindness, effectively killing the practice of obtaining an infringement opinion.

Gene Quinn

August 20, 2012